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A DIGEST 






LAWS AND REGULATIONS 



WESLEYAN METHODISTS. 

S&ttJ) an ^ppnttux. 



7 

BY SAMUEL WARREN, LL.D. 



" What are we afraid of? Of overturning our first principles ? If they 
are false, the sooner they are overturned the better. If they are true, they 
•will bear the strictest examination." — Minutes of Conference, 1744. 




iPu*Ite&eb fcg Sofrn Sbtep&etaJ, 153, $\m £tmt. 



1835. 

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[lintmfc at Stationers' Pfall*] 



Printed by John Stephens, 153, Fleet Street. 



CONTENTS. 



Dedication ix. 

Preface * . . . xi. 



General Plan of the Digest 



Ctje Gtoxifevemt. 

I. The Conference in their Annual As- 
sembly . I 

The Deed of Declaration ..... 1 
Mr. Wesley's Last Will and Testa- 
ment 10 

The Large Minutes of Conference . . 

i. The President and Secretary .... 45 

ii. Rules concerning the Conference ... 46 

in. The Stationing Committee 63 

II. Chairmen of Districts ....... 67 

III. Superintendents of Circuits .... 88 

IV. Wesleyan Missionary Society . . . . 112 

Questions, additional to, or explanatory of, 

those usually put to Missionary Candidates 117 

Instructions to the Wesleyan Missionaries . 121 
General Rules concerning the Foreign 

Missions 128 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The Plan of General Pacification . . 140 

Regulations made at Leeds 146 

The Leeds Case 151 

I. Rules of the Society 156 

II. Discipline of the Societies 160 

i. Of receiving Members into the Society . ib. 
ii. Of the Exclusion of Members from the 

Society ib. 

in. Of permitting Strangers to be present at 

the Society- Meetings and Love-feasts . 161 

iv. Of Service in Church-hours .... ib. 
v. Concerning the Administration of the 
Ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's 

Supper . . 162 

vi. On conformity to the World and Sabbath- 
breaking . . 164 

vn. On Marrying with Unbelievers . . . 165 

viii. Of Bankruptcies ib. 

ix. Of Loyalty and Subjection to the King 

and Government 166 

x. Of Days of Fasting ib. 

III. Officers of the Societies 167 

l. Of the Appointment or Change of Stew- 
ards and Leaders ib. 

it. Of Local Preachers and their Meetings . 16S 

in. Concerning Trustees . 170 

iv. Of the Quarterly-Meetings, composed of 
the Stewards of the different Societies 

in each Circuit 1 70 

IV. Rules of the Band Societies .... 173 

, Directions given to the Band Societies . . . 174 
V. Public Worship and Family Religion . 177 
Recommendations . concerning Family Re- 
ligion 182 



I. The Contingent Fund 184 

II. The Chapel Fund 194 

III. The School Fund 206 

IV. The Childrens' Fund 214 

V. The Preacher's Fund, or Annuitant So- 
ciety 222 

VI. The Auxiliary Fund 228 



CONTENTS. 

Mi$ttUa\\tou$, 

TAGB 

I. The Book-Room 231 

II. The Chapel Building Committee and 

Chapels 241 

III. Sunday Schools 245 

IV. Day Schools 256 

V. Tract Society 257 



&ppnttrtx. 

I. Statement of the Principal Doctrines 

of Wesleyan Methodism 261 

II. Forms of Chapel Deeds 2/3 

III. The Model Deed 284 

IV. The Toleration Act 297 

V. Case of Mr. J. R. Stephens 302 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



In this Second Edition of the Digest, care has been 
taken to insert in their proper places, the Rules and 
Regulations which have been adopted from the publica- 
tion of the First Edition, up to the present time. Ad- 
ditional notes have also been supplied, most of which are 
historical ; but some of them are such as tend to eluci- 
date, as much as possible, the ambiguity of certain 
passages which have of late been resorted to, as seeming 
to countenance present Usage instead of Rule, to the fear- 
ful risk of the liberties, both of the Preachers and of the 
People. This is thought to be the more necessary, as 
the affairs of the Connexion have reached a crisis, which 
renders it extremely necessary that the Laws and Regu- 
lations of the Conference should be clearly understood 
by all, whether preachers or people, whether official or 
private members. 

The Appendix contains a comprehensive statement of 
the principal Doctrines of Wesleyan Methodism, col- 
lected with great care, from the writings of its venerable 
Founder, together with other documents not susceptible 
of specific classification in the body of the work. For 
the ample and accurate Index, which in this Edition so 
greatly enhances the value of the volume, and which 
may be regarded as an inestimable clue to the whole 
of the Wesleyan Polity, the Public are indebted to the 
industry and patience of the Publisher. 

The Compiler, in conclusion, thinks it his duty to 
state, that from recent occurrences of disputes in the 
Body, respecting the interpretation of certain Rules and 
Regulations, he is obliged to acknowledge, that several 
expressions in the Preface are too laudatory, and that 
subsequent observation has constrained him to modify 
his opinions. 

s. w. 

London, March 12, 1835. 



TO 

THE PREACHERS AND MEMBERS 

OF THE WESLEYAN METHODIST SOCIETIES, 
AT HOME AND ABROAD, 

THIS DIGEST 

OF ALL THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS 

OF THE BODY, 

IS INSCRIBED BY 

THEIR FAITHFUL SERVANT, 

AND FELLOW-LABOURER, 

SAMUEL WARREN. 






PREFACE. 



Sufficient informatiori respecting the general his- 
tory of Wesleyan Methodism, and the principal incidents 
which marked the character and progress of its venerable 
Founder, and his Coadjutors, is already before the Pub- 
lic. All the Doctrines which characterize the Body, 
have also been so fully and repeatedly brought before 
the world by its numerous publications, both in the form 
of direct statements, and in the vindication of them 
against all those opponents whose writings were thought 
considerable enough to deserve reply, and they continue 
to occupy so prominent a place in the Public Ministry 
of the Word by its authorized Preachers, that no further 
information than what is within the reach of every sin- 
cere inquirer is necessary. The space therefore allotted 
to the Doctrinal Department of this woi'k is small, as 
well for the reasons just assigned, as for others which will 
be found in their proper place. 

The Discipline by which the Body has from the be- 
ginning been governed, and by which it continues to 
flourish, occupies a large place in its Constitution. 
The particular Laws and Regulations, however, which 
are necessary, not only to the good order and happiness 
of its members, but also to the security of the rights 
and privileges of its respective Orders, lie scattered over 
a wide extent, are encumbered with an intermixture of 
foreign matter, and not unfrequently rendered perplexing 
by want of the means of distinguishing the Rules which 
are operative, from those which are obsolete or rescinded. 



Xll PREFACE. 

This inconvenience has long been felt, and attempts 
have been made to obviate it, by the construction of 
Indexes and References ; which, however, have fallen far 
short of removing the difficulty. It is thought, there- 
fore, that a Digest of all the Laws and Regula- 
tions, up to the present time, will prove an acceptable 
and useful Manual, not to the Travelling Preachers 
only, but also to all who hold any Official Situation in 
the Connexion. For want of such assistance, measures 
have sometimes been taken, both by Preachers and 
People, that have occasioned much uneasiness, which 
perhaps might have been avoided, if those Rules of Me- 
thodism which applied to the cases had only been at 
hand. Of how great importance a thorough knowledge 
of the Laws and Regulations of Methodism is, to the 
proper discharge of the duties incumbent both upon 
Preachers and People, may be gathered from a Minute 
of the Conference in the year 1806. Question 21 — 
" It is said, that in some Leaders' -Meetings, votes have 
been taken in given instances, whether the fixed and 
established Rules of Methodism, as printed in our 
General Minutes, should be executed or not. What 
shall be done to prevent this evil ? Answer. All our 
Rules are equally binding on both the Preachers and the 
People ; and, therefore, every Superintendent who per- 
mits a vote to be taken on the execution or rejection of 
them, shall, on proof at the ensuing Conference, be de- 
prived of the office of Superintendent." 

How to accomplish such a Digest, so as to meet the 
views and wishes of the Body, and to make it decisive 
upon what both Preachers and People acknowledge to 
be Law, has been a subject of considerable thought and 
investigation. From a perception of the difficulties at- 
tendant upon such a design, this work has been more 
than once laid aside. But, having no reason to think 
that any other person has an intention of publishing 
such a work (though something of the kind was expected 
some years ago, from a respectable Preacher in the Con- 
nexion), and thinking the present to be a kind of epoch 
in the Laws of Methodism, the Compiler has endea- 
voured to supply, according to the best of his ability, 
what has often been expressed to be a desirable object, 



PREFACE. Xlll 

and hopes it will be as kindly accepted by his Christian 
Brethren, as it is kindly intended by him. 

There are three great epochs in Methodistic Legisla- 
tion. The first epoch includes the period during 
which the venerable Father of Methodism presided at 
the annual assembly of the Preachers in connexion with 
him, and directed its consultations. The results of its 
deliberations, adapted to the progressive stages of the 
work of God, were from year to year minuted down, 
and published as the Rules by which they were deter- 
mined to prosecute their design, both as to the Doctrines 
they should preach, and the Discipline they should main- 
tain in the Societies which were formed. In the pro- 
gress of years, these llules were greatly accumulated. 
Some of them, which were of more local and temporary 
importance, became obsolete ; and the others, especially 
when the increasing magnitude of the Body enforced a 
closer attention to its more secular arrangements, were 
so mixed up with other subjects, as to throw an indis- 
tinctness around those Rules, which were essential to the 
promotion of their main object. And as a distinct per- 
ception of this object, and the means by which it was to be 
attained, were acknowledged to be necessary, in order to 
the maintenance of union among the Preachers during 
Mr. Wesley's life, and especially after his decease, it 
became a subject of deep concern in his mind, how to 
adopt the most effectual method to perpetuate the unity 
of the Body. 

As early, therefore, as the year 1769, the following 
question was proposed by him in the Conference ; — "Can 
any thing be done now, in order to lay a foundation for 
our future union ? Would it not be well, for any that 
are willing, to sign some articles of agreement before 
God calls me hence ? Suppose something like these: — 

" We, whose names are underwritten, being thoroughly 
convinced of the necessity of a close union between those 
whom God is pleased to use as instruments in this glo- 
rious work, in order to preserve this union between our- 
selves, are resolved, God being our helper, 

" I. To devote ourselves entirely to God ; denying 
ourselves, taking up our cross daily, steadily aiming at 
one thing, to save our own souls, and them that hear us. 



XIV PREFACE. 

"II. To preach the old Methodist doctrines, and no 
other, contained in the Minutes of the Conferences. 

" III. To observe and enforce the whole Methodist dis- 
cipline, laid down in the said Minutes." 

In consequence of this suggestion, the Preachers then 
desired Mr. Wesley to extract the most material part of 
the Minutes as the Rules by which they were to walk. 
Agreeably to which, Mr. Wesley undertook, and ulti- 
mately completed, a Digest of all the Minutes of the 
Conference, from the year 1744 to the year 1789. This 
document, which is denominated "Minutes of several 
Conversations between the Rev. John Wesley, 
M.A., and others," is held by all the Preachers as 
the collection of the most important and official Rules by 
which they are to be governed. It is, therefore, according 
to this public Instrument, that every Candidate for admis- 
sion upon trial as a Travelling Preacher is examined : 
and, after they have passed their four years of probation, 
receive a copy of it, with the following inscription, signed 
by the President and Secretary of the Conference : — 
" To A.JB. — You think it your duty to call sinners to 
repentance. Make full proof hereof and zve shall re- 
joice to receive you as a fellow-labourer^ The giving 
and receiving of this Instrument is considered as an offi- 
cial act, by which the person who receives it is admitted 
into full Connexion as a Travelling Preacher, and entitled 
to all the privileges of an accredited member. 

Thus we have from under Mr. Wesley's own hand, 
till within two years of his death, his latest revision and 
correction of all the Rules which he considered essential 
to the maintenance of the unity and good government of 
the Bod}\ But in addition to these Rules for the in- 
ternal management of its affairs, another consideration 
of vast importance was, how to provide for the permanent 
authority and power of the Conference, after Mr. Wes- 
ley's decease, so to appoint the Preachers to the Chapels 
throughout the Connexion from year to year, as that the 
Trustees might neither be able to interfere with their 
right, nor alienate the Chapels from the purpose for 
which they were built. This, at the suggestion of Dr. 
Coke, led Mr. Wesley to take advice of an eminent 
Counsellor, how to define and specify in legal terms 



PREFACE. XV 

" The Conference of the People called Methodists :" i. e. 
the persons by name who composed it, together with the 
mode of succession for its perpetuity ; and at the same 
time to express such regulations as those by which Mr. 
Wesley would wish the Conference to be governed after 
his death. 

Agreeably to this design, on February 28, 1784, Mr. 
Wesley executed the Deed of Declaration, consti- 
tuting one hundred Preachers, whom he mentioned by 
name, " The Conference of the People called Metho- 
dists ;" which Instrument was enrolled in his Majesty's 
High Court of Chancery. Thus by the good Providence 
of God, the most solid foundation was laid for securing 
and perpetuating the spiritual interests of the Body, and 
for defending its legal rights against the encroachments 
of usurpation, and the intrigues of faction. 

These two public Instruments, " The large Minutes 
of the Conference" and " The Deed of Declaration" 
constitute the Jachin and Boaz of the temple of Me- 
thodism ; and being completed within six years of each 
other, a period of the utmost importance to the Body is 
thus pointed out (i. e. from its origin in 1739, to its 
consolidation in 1789) ; which may with the utmost 
propriety be denominated the first great epoch of Me- 
thodism. 

The second epoch includes the period between the 
death of Mr. Wesley, and the year 1797 ; which, though 
hut a short time compared with the preceding, was a sea- 
son of great hazard and anxiety for the safety of the 
Body. Bereft as the Preachers were of their patriarchal 
Head, and by him put in trust with the Executive power 
of the Connexion — a power which, whilst Mr. Wesley 
lived, few were inclined to call in question, or enter- 
tain a fear that in his hands it would ever be used to 
their prejudice ; yet on the part both of the People and 
of the Preachers, mutual fears were excited, lest en- 
croachments should be made on either side to the detri- 
ment of the other. 

The subject, however, which created most alarm was, 
respecting that strict adherence to the National Church, 
which Mr. Wesley so strenuously endeavoured and re- 
commended. Some of the Members who had long been 



X>1 PREFACE. 

accustomed to receive the Lord's Supper in the Esta- 
blished Church, and to attend its public worship during 
Mr. Wesley's life, were vehemently opposed to any alter- 
ation in the Discipline of Methodism which would inter- 
fere with the former practice ; whilst others, some of 
whom had been brought up Dissenters, objected to be 
under constraint to attend the service of the National 
Church, and entreated to have such a modification in the 
Discipline of the Body, as would allow those who were 
desirous, to enjoy the Christian ordinances, by the mi- 
nistrations of those who were the regular appointed 
Preachers of the Gospel in their own Connexion. 

The urgency with which both parties importuned the 
Conference, and the inevitable consequence of separa- 
tion, unless something decisive had been done to meet 
the exigence, constrained the Preachers to endeavour to 
terminate the contest, which had now continued duiing 
four years, by drawing up such terms of mutual conces; ion 
and agreement as might preserve the Body entire, and 
lay a foundation for lasting peace and unity. This was 
most happily accomplished by a Plan which was matured 
by the deliberations of a skilful Committee to whom this 
difficult task was assigned ; and which ultimately, with 
the alteration of a single Article, obtained the unanimous 
approbation of the Conference. Two or three Articles 
more were agreed upon under the title of Addenda, in 
order to give the most complete satisfaction, and to re- 
move every obstacle to unanimity. This important docu- 
ment was drawn up and published in the year 1795, and 
is entitled, "Articles of Agreement for General Pacific 
cation" 

Still, however, something was wanting to give entire 
confidence to the People, that the Executive power 
which was vested in the Preachers by Mr. Wesley, 
should not become an instrument of oppression. To 
meet as far as possible the wishes of the People on this 
point, such measures were adopted by the Conference of 
1797, as satisfied the Connexion, that the Preachers were 
not desirous of retaining any more authority, than was 
indispensably necessary to the existence of the Body. 
Such a balance of power, however, was still to be main- 
tained, as should sufficiently prevent the People, as well 



PREFACE. XV11 

as the Preachers, from becoming arbitrary ; as prepon- 
derance on either side might have proved equally perilous 
to the Connexion. This accordingly was undertaken 
and accomplished with the utmost deliberation, and in 
the most solemn manner, at an early part of the Confer- 
ence, and was thus announced : — 

" TO THE MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE 
METHODIST SOCIETIES. 

" Whereas, we, the undersigned, have, on this and 
the preceding day, carefully revised the Rules drawn up 
and left us by our late venerable Father in the Gospel, 
the Rev. Mr. Wesley, which were published by him in 
our large Minutes, to which we consented when we were 
admitted, and by which we were regulated during his life : 
And whereas we have collected together those Rules 
which we believe to be essential to the existence of Me- 
thodism, as well as others, to which we have no objec- 
tion, we do now voluntarily and in good faith 
sign our names, as approving of, and engaging to comply 
with, the aforesaid collection of Rules, or Code of Laws, 
— God being our helper." [Signed by one hundred and 
forty-Jive Preachers who were present^ 

The " Code of Laws" to which reference is here made, 
together with the " Plan of General Pacification" con- 
stitute a Charter, by which the People hold from the 
Preachers their respective rights and privileges : as the 
Preachers, on their part, are protected in the exercise of 
their prerogatives, by the special appointment of Mr. 
Wesley, and the Deed of Declaration enrolled in his 
Majesty's High Court of Chancery. 

These respective Instruments, as they maintain the 
balance of power between the Preachers and the People, 
so they will be found to occupy the most prominent 
situation under their respective heads, in the following 
Digest. — We are thus arrived at the limit which includes 
the second important era of Methodism : a period during 
which the hopes of its enemies, that it would come to 
nothing, were disappointed ; and the fears of its friends, 
though they were confident its essential principles were 
indestructible, yet that its unity might perhaps be lost, 
were entirely dissipated. The precision which was given 



XV111 PREFACE. 

to the Laws and Regulations to which both parties cheer- 
fully consented, and the spirit of Christian charity in 
which they have ever since been executed, have most 
successfully harmonized every part of the system, and 
rendered its operations more powerful and extensive, 
than was contemplated, even by those who entertained 
the most sanguine expectations of its prosperity. 

The third epoch reaches from the year 1797, to the 
present period ; during which time Regulations of the 
utmost importance, adapted to the enlarged state and 
prospects of the Connexion, have been adopted and 
matured. These relate chiefly to the present system of 
Finance, and the constitution of its Foreign Mis- 
sionary Society. In reference to the former of these, 
not expediency only, but urgent necessity required an 
entirely new system. The inconvenience and embar- 
rassment into which the Connexion had frequently been 
thrown, by the accumulation of debt, sometimes to such 
a degree as to create considerable alarm, constrained the 
Conference to direct its special attention, and to employ 
the utmost skill, not only to extricate itself from present 
difficulties, but to make such Regulations as should pre- 
vent their recurrence for the future. 

One of the principal causes of its difficulties arose from 
the excess of the contingent expenses above the regular 
income of the Connexion, occasioned by the appoint- 
ment of Preachers to such Circuits as were unable to 
meet their deficiencies, the removal of Preachers and 
their families, and other expenses inseparable from the 
plan of Itinerancy. Another principal embarrassment 
arose out of the improvident erection of Chapels, in re- 
spect either of their magnitude or costliness, or from such 
changes in the condition of things as greatly reduced 
their income, or rendered some of them useless. The 
pecuniary burden of the Trustees, notwithstanding all 
that had been done to relieve them, by the former plan 
of soliciting aid for each distressed Chapel separately, still 
became more and more oppressive ; till happily, the for- 
mation of the General Chapel Fund provided at 
once for the immediate exigency of every distressed case, 
by assisting the Trustees to meet the deficiency of inter- 
est upon money borrowed for their respective Chapels ; 



PREFACE. XIX 

and laid a foundation for the progressive diminution, and 
ultimate extinction of that portion of the principal, in all 
cases that require it, which will place every Chapel in 
the Connexion in easy circumstances. 

Whilst this measure has effectually restored confidence 
throughout the Connexion, by providing for the relief of 
every distressed Chapel already built, if they are regularly 
settled upon the plan of Conference, as expressed in the 
Deed of Declaration ; the institution of the Chapel 
Building Committee affords security to the Con- 
nexion against the recurrence of such embarrassments, 
occasioned by the imprudent erection of Chapels, as 
produced only a little time ago, so much anxiety and 
distress through the Body. • 

There remained yet one more object, the attainment 
of which had long been considered most desirable, both 
as improving the financial system, and as obviating con- 
siderable difficulty in the annual appointment of the 
Preachers. According to former practice, the allow- 
ance for the support of Preachers' children whilst at 
home, was made by the Circuits individually, without 
any definite scale of apportionment as to the number 
which they ought to support according to their ability ; 
leaving the children thus unprovided for, to receive their 
allowance from the Fund for contingent expenses. This 
led to the formation of the Children's Fund. The 
improvement made in this part of the economy consists 
in the following arrangement : that every District is con- 
sidered responsible for providing within itself, and by 
its own local resources, the usual Quarterly allowances 
for such a number of the Preachers' children, as shall 
be found, on annual examination and calculation, to be 
fairly chargeable on the Circuits belonging to that Dis- 
trict, according to the principle of proportion to Numbers 
in Society. 

The separation of the concerns of the Foreign Mis- 
sions from the home work, and the constitution of the 
Wesleyan Missionary Society, form also a distinguishing 
feature in the third era of Methodism. Previously to 
the formation of its General Missionary Society, the 
Foreign Missions had been carried on in common with 
the other business of the annual Conference, first under 



XX TREFACE. 

the immediate direction of Mr. Wesley, and subsequently 
under the superintendence of Dr. Coke. As the Mis- 
sionary work extended, it was found to require a larger 
and more exact attention, than could be devoted to it, in 
conjunction with the increasing business of the home de- 
partment. This led the Conference of 1&17 to draw the 
outline of a plan of a General Wesleyan Mis- 
sionary Society, which Plan the Executive Com- 
mittee were directed to take in charge, and to make such 
additional arrangements as might be necessary for per- 
fecting it, and carrying it into full effect. 

The Committee, in pursuance of this direction, pre- 
sented at the folloAving Conference a Report, containing 
such General Laws and Regulations for the said Society, 
as seemed to them best calculated, in the enlarged and 
enlarging state of the Missionary concerns, to provide 
for their due management and permanent support. This 
Report having been read and considered, the Conference 
resolved, — That it is expedient to adopt some Plan by 
which the piety, talents, information, and influence of 
some of our respectable Friends, Members of the Me- 
thodist Society, not being Travelling Preachers, may be 
brought into co-operation with the exertions of the 
Preachers, as Members of the Executive Missionary 
Committee in London ; and that the details of the Plan 
now presented by the London Committee, which Plan 
includes, among other particulars, a provision for such a 
co-operation, shall be referred to a Committee of the 
Conference, who shall examine it, article by article, and 
report their opinion respecting it, and respecting any 
additions to it which they may deem necessary. — The 
Committee thus appointed having met, and recommended, 
with only a few alterations, chiefly verbal, the Plan 
presented by the London Committee, the Conference 
finally resolved unanimously, That the said Plan, as re- 
commended by the Committee who have examined it, 
be now adopted. 

A Century has now nearly elapsed since the esta- 
blishment of Methodism in this Country, during which 
period it has been placed in a variety of situations, as it 
respects the difficulties against which it has had to con- 
tend, sometimes from persons who have been in power 



PREFACE. XXI 

both in Church and State, and as it respects the various 
circumstances connected with its internal government, 
during the three epochs which have been already noticed. 
The measures to which the Body has found it necessary 
to have recourse, and the Regulations which have from 
time to time been adopted, so as to suit the exigencies 
of the cases which have occurred, modified as they have 
been by the test of utility, to which they have been con- 
stantly submitted, furnish materials of the utmost value 
and importance for its preservation and well-being, and 
for its future guidance in difficult circumstances. The 
entire economy of Methodism, both as to its spiritual 
and temporal prosperity, may, therefore, now be con- 
sidered as having attained such a degree of maturity 
and perfection, as is not likely soon to admit of any 
material improvement. The present has therefore been 
considered as a time the most suitable for such a Digest 
as is here attempted, of those Laws and Regulations, 
which the experience and wisdom of so many years have 
accumulated. 



^^T In the following Digest the usual method of 
the Conference, in proposing its Regulations in the form 
of Question and Answer, has been observed ; not merely 
as preserving the authority entire, but as frequently tend- 
ing to elucidate the Regulations themselves, by the ques- 
tions with which they are introduced. 

The chronological order of the adoption of the Regu- 
lations has also been followed, both as being of easier 
reference, and as forming a kind of historic notation of 
the events which gave rise to them. 

Wherever the Conference itself has not expressly 
declared a former regulation to be rescinded, or where it 
is not obviously and decisively superseded by a subse- 
quent Regulation, or by established usage, it has been 
faithfully preserved ; lest, by its omission under the no- 
tion of its being obsolete or unoperative, there might be 
room to suspect, that the Compiler had substituted his 
individual opinion in place of the decision of the Bodv. 

To prevent, as far as possible, any misconstruction, 
when the Regulation of a preceding year has been modi- 
fied by a subsequent one, it has been presented in its 



XX11 PREFACE. 

former, as well as in its amended state, wherever the 
one might be capable of casting any light upon the 
other. 

With a view to prevent a multiplication of heads, a 
few Regulations of a more general character than is spe- 
cified under the particular denomination, will be found; 
as under the article School- Fund, where a few Rules 
will be met with which regard the more general economy 
of the Schools. 

In the progress of the work it will be found, that many 
Recommendations and Advices, chiefly of a moral and 
religious nature, which may be met with under former 
years, have, for the sake of general utility, been after- 
wards occasionally embodied by the authority of the Con- 
ference in public formularies ; as in the instance which 
occurs under the " Rules concerning the Chairmen of 
Districts." (No. xx.) In such cases it has been thought 
advisable not to omit, in their former situation, such 
advices and recommendations as the Conference has al- 
ways been solicitous to render prominent. 

In like manner when certain Rules, either on account 
of their great importance, or in consequence of their 
having fallen into neglect, have been ordered by the 
Conference to be brought forward into greater notoriety 
in a subsequent year, they too, in most instances, will be 
found to be reprinted in the Digest. 

Where a Rule has relation to two distinct Office- 
bearers, as, for instance, when one part of it belongs to 
the Chairman of a District, and another to the Superin- 
tendent of a Circuit, that part which relates to the duty 
of the Superintendent will be printed under its respective 
head, as well as in the general Regulation, which also 
will be found entire in its proper place. Thus each in- 
dividual will find his whole duty set before him at once, 
without referring to another place. 

s. w. 

Woolwich, April 28, 1827. 



A DIGEST, &c. 



$$t Conferente* 



Under this general denomination is here included, the 
whole body of Travelling Preachers : distinguished, how- 
ever, either as they compose their Annual Assembly, or 
as they sustain their special characters, during the intervals 
of the Annual Conferences. The special characters relate 
to the Preachers in respect of their office, either as Chair- 
men of Districts, as Superintendents of Circuits, 
or as connected with the Wesleyan Missionary So- 
ciety. The specific duties connected with the combined 
and separate characters of the Preachers, under the four- 
fold distribution just mentioned, will form the First Part 
of the General Plan. 



I. THE CONFERENCE IN THEIR ANNUAL 
ASSEMBLY. 

Before entering upon the special Laws and Regulations 
connected with the characters and offices of the Preachers, 
and the business of the Annual Conference, it is proper to 
be made acquainted with the Deed of Declaration — 
that Instrument which gives a legal specification of the 
expression, " The Conference of the People called Metho- 
dists" and whereby alone the Acts and Deeds of the Con- 
ference are rendered valid. This Instrument, on account 
of its great importance to the whole Connexion, may justly 
be called the Magna Charta of Methodism ; and is 
as follows : — 

An attested Copy of the Rev. John Wesley's Declaration and 
Establishment of the Conference of the People called 
Methodists, enrolled in his Majesty's High Court of 
Chancery, with Annotations.* 

To ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 

John Wesley, late of Lincoln College, Oxford, but now 
of the City-road, London, Clerk, sendeth greeting : 

* This Deed was drawn up, executed, and enrolled, pursuant to the 
advice of Mr. Madocks, an eminent counsel. The folio wiug is the 
case submitted to him and his opinion upon it : — 



2 DEED OF DECLARATION. 

Whereas divers buildings commonly called chapels, 
with a messuage and dwelling-house, or other appurtenances, 
to each of the same belonging, situate in various parts of 
Great Britain, have been given and conveyed, from time to 
time, by the said John Wesley to certain persons, and their 
heirs, in each of the said gifts and conve) T ances named, 
which are enrolled in his Majesty's High Court of Chancery, 
upon the acknowledgment of the said John Wesley (pur- 
suant to the Act of Parliament in that case made and pro- 
vided), upon trust, that the trustees in the said several 
deeds respectively named, and the survivors of them, and 
their heirs and assigns, and the trustees for the same being 
to be elected, as in the said deeds is appointed, should 
permit and suffer the said John Wesley, and such other 
person and persons as he should for that purpose from time 
to time nominate and appoint, at all times during his life, 
at his will and pleasure, to have and enjoy the free use and 
benefit of the said premises, that he the said John Wesley, 
and such person or persons as he should nominate and ap- 
point, might therein preach and expound God's holy word : 
And upon further trust, that the said respective trus- 
tees, and the survivors of them, and their heirs and assigns, 
and the trustees for the time being, should permit and 



Your opinion is requested. 

Will the general description in the Deeds " of the yearly Conference 
of the people called Methodists in London, &c," together with the con- 
stant usage before-mentioned, be sufficient marks of identity, personal and 
legal description, of the very persons who actually do compose the Con- 
ference, as to carry the exercise of the trust fully into them, and safely 
through them into their appointees, so effectually as to enable such ap- 
pointees to maintain and enforce their right to the benefit of the trusts, 
in case of resistance on the part of the Trustees, or any other persons ; 
if not, what means would you advise to be taken for the aforesaid 
purposes ? 

Answer : — 
As to the means of fixing the sense of the word Conference, and defining 
what persons are to be members of the Conference, and how the body 
is to be continued in succession, and to identify it, I think Mr. John 
Wesley should prepare and subscribe a declaration for that purpose, 
to be enrolled in the Court of Chancery for safe custody, naming the 
present members, and prescribing the mode of election to fill vacancies, 
and making the Minutes or Memorials of their proceedings, sigued by 
their Secretary, evidence of such elections, to which declaration of 
Mr. Wesley, so enrolled, all the Trust Deeds should refer. 

John Madocks. 
Lincoln's Inn, Dec. 5, 1783. 

The Deed of Declaration occasioned so much uneasiness in the Con- 
nexion, that, in order to quell it, the whole of the preachers who were at 
the Conference of 17S5, signed declarations of their approval of its sub- 
stance and design. 



DEED OF DECLARATION. 8 

suffer Charles Wesley, brother of the said John Wesley, 
and such other person and persons as the said Charles 
Wesley should for that purpose from time to time nominate 
and appoint, in like manner during his life — To have, use, 
and enjoy, the said premises respectively for the like pur- 
poses aforesaid: And after the decease of the survivor of 
them, the said John Wesley, and Charles Wesley, then 
upon further trust, that the said respective trustees, 
and the survivors of them, and their heirs and assigns, and 
the trustees for the time being for ever, should permit and 
suffer such person and persons, and for such time and times 
as should be appointed at the yearly Conference of the 
people called Methodists, in London, Bristol, or Leeds, and 
no others, to have and enjoy the said premises for the pur- 
poses aforesaid:* And whereas divers persons have in 
like manner given, or conveyed, many chapels, with mes- 
suages and dwelling-houses, or other appurtenances to the 
same belonging, situate in various parts of Great Britain, 
and also in Ireland, to certain trustees in each of the said 
gifts and conveyances respectively named, upon the like 
trusts, and for the same uses and purposes as aforesaid 
(except only that in some of the said gifts and conveyances, 
no life-estate, or other interest, is therein or thereby given 
and reserved to the said Charles Wesley): And whereas, 
for rendering effectual the trusts created by the said several 
gifts or conveyances, and that no doubt or litigation may 
arise with respect unto the same, or interpretation and true 
meaning thereof, it has been thought expedient by the said 
John Wesley, on behalf of himself as donor of the several 
chapels, with the messuages, dwelling-houses, or appurte- 
nances, before mentioned : As of the Donors of the said 
other chapels, with the messuages, dwelling-houses, or ap- 
purtenances to the same belonging, given or conveyed to the 
like uses and trusts, to explain the words yearly Conference 
of the people called Methodists, contained in all the said trust- 
deeds, and to declare what persons are members of the said 
Conference, and how the succession and identity thereof is 
to be continued : Now therefore these presents wit- 
ness, that, for accomplishing the aforesaid purposes, the 
said John Wesley doth hereby declare, that the Conference 
of the people called Methodists in London, Bristol, or 
Leeds, ever since there hath been any yearly Conference of 

* This is only a repetition of that part of the old Deed of Settlement 
which relates to the trust. Nor does this Deed alter the old mode 
of settlement in any respect, but was merely designed to specify who 
were then the members of the Conference, how the succession should 
be preserved, and by what regulations the Conference should be 
governed. 



4 DEED OF DECLARATION. 

the said people called Methodists, in any of the said places 
hath always heretofore consisted of the Preachers and Ex- 
pounders of God's holy word, commonly called Methodist 
Preachers, in connexion with, and under the care of the 
said John Wesley, whom he hath thought expedient, year 
after year, to summons to meet him, in one or other of the 
said places of London, Bristol, or Leeds, to advise with 
them for the promotion of the Gospel of Christ, to appoint 
the said persons so summoned, and the other Preachers and 
Expounders of God's holy word, also in connexion with, 
and under the care of, the said John Wesley, not summoned 
to the said yearly Conference, to the use and enjoyment of 
the said chapels and premises so given and conveyed upon 
trust for the said John Wesley, and such other person and 
persons as he should appoint during his life, as aforesaid; 
and for the expulsion of unworthy, and admission of new 
persons under his care, and into his connexion, to be 
Preachers and Expounders, as aforesaid ; and also of other 
persons upon trial for the like purposes : the names of all 
which persons so summoned by the said John Wesley, the 
persons appointed, with the chapels and premises to which 
they were so appointed, together with the duration of such 
appointments, and of those expelled, or admitted, into con- 
nexion, or upon trial, with all other matters transacted and 
done at the said yearly Conference, have year by year been 
printed and published under the title of " Minutes of Con- 
ference." And these presents further witness, and 
the said John Wesley doth hereby avouch and further de- 
clare, that the several persons hereinafter-named, being 
Preachers and Expounders of God's holy word, under the 
care and in connexion with the said John Wesley, have 
been, and now are, and do, on the day of the date hereof, 
constitute the members of the said Conference, according to 
the true intent and meaning of the said several gifts and 
conveyances, wherein the words Conference of the People 
called Methodists, are mentioned and contained. And that 
the said several persons before-named, and their successors 
for ever, to be chosen as hereinafter-mentioned, are and 
shall for ever be construed, taken, and be the Conference of 
the People called Methodists. Nevertheless, upon the terms, 
and subject to the regulations hereinafter prescribed, that 
is to say, 

First, That the members of the said Conference, and 
their successors for the time being for ever, shall assemble 
ance in every year, at London, Bristol, or Leeds (except as 
after-mentioned), for the purposes aforesaid ; and the time 
and place of holding every subsequent Conference, shall 
be appointed at the preceding one ; save that the next Con- 



D^ED OF DECLARATION. 5 

ference, after the date hereof, shall be holden at Leeds, in 
Yorkshire, the last Tuesday in July next. 

Second, The act of the majority in number of the Con- 
ference assembled, as aforesaid, shall be had, taken, and be 
the act of the whole Conference ; to all intents, purposes, 
and constructions whatsoever. 

Third, That after the Conference shall be assembled as 
aforesaid, they shall first proceed to fill up all the vacan- 
cies occasioned by death, or absence, as after-mentioned. 

Fourth,* No act of the Conference assembled as aforesaid, 
shall be had, taken, or be the act of the Conference, until 
forty of the members thereof are assembled, unless reduced 
under that number by death since the prior Conference, or 
absence, as after-mentioned ; nor until all the vacancies 
occasioned by death, or absence, shall be filled up by the 
election of new members of the Conference, so as to make 
up the number of one hundred, unless there be not a suffi- 
cient number of persons objects of such election : and 
during the assembly of the Conference, there shall always 
be forty members present at the doing of any act, save as 
aforesaid, or otherwise such act shall be void. 
. Fifth, The duration of the yearly assembly of the Con- 
ference shall not be less than five days, nor more than three 
weeks,f and be concluded by the appointment of the Con- 
ference, if under twenty-one days ; or otherwise the con- 
clusion thereof shall follow of course at the end of the said 
twenty-one days ; the whole of all which said time of 
the assembly of the Conference shall be had, taken, con- 
sidered, and be the yearly Conference of the people called 
Methodists, and all such acts of the Conference during such 
yearly assembly thereof shall be the acts of the Conference, 
and none others. 

Sixth, Immediately after all the vacancies occasioned 
by death, or absence, are filled up by the election of new 
members as aforesaid, the Conference shall choose a Pre- 
sident, and Secretary, of their assembly, out of themselves, 
who shall continue such until the election of another Pre- 
sident, or Secretary, in the next or other subsequent Con- 
ference ; and the said President shall have the privilege 
and power of two members in all acts of the Conference 
during his presidency, and such other powers, privileges, 

* This regulation tends to prevent any small party of designing men 
from executing clandestine measures, as does the regulation which obliges 
every Conference to fix, in the year preceding, the time of the meeting of 
the Conference in the year ensuing. 

+ Otherwise the Conference might continue to sit till the circuits were 
materially injured by the absence of so many of the preachers. 



DEED OF DECLARATION. 

and authorities, as the Conference shall, from time to time, 
see fit to entrust into his hands. 

Seventh, Any member of the Conference absenting him- 
self from the yearly assembly thereof for two years succes- 
sive^, without the consent or dispensation of the Conference, 
and being not present on the first day of the third yearly 
assembly thereof at the time and place appointed for the 
holding of the same, shall cease to be a member of the 
Conference from and after the said first day of the said 
third yearly assembly thereof, to all intents and purposes, 
as though he was naturally dead. But the Conference 
shall and may dispense with, or consent to, the absence of 
any member from any of the said yearly assemblies, for 
any cause which the Conference may see fit or necessary; 
and such member, whose absence shall be so dispensed with, 
or consented to by the Conference, shall not by such ab- 
sence cease to be a member thereof. 

Eighth,* The Conference shall and may expel, and put 
out from being a member thereof, or from being in con- 
nexion therewith, or from being upon trial, any person 
member of the Conference, admitted into connexion, or 
upon trial, from any cause which to the Conference may 
seem fit or necessary ; and every member of the Conference 
so expelled and put out shall cease to be a member thereof 
to all intents and purposes, as though he was naturally 
dead. And the Conference, immediately after the expulsion 
of any member thereof as aforesaid, shall elect another 
person to be a member of the Conference, in the stead of 
such member so expelled. 

Ninth, The Conference shall and may admit into con- 
nexion with them, or upon trial, any person or persons 
whom they shall approve to be Preachers and Expounders 
of God's holy word, under the care and direction of the 
Conference ; the name of every such person or persons so 
admitted into connexion, or upon trial as aforesaid, with 
the time and degrees of the admission, being entered in the 
journals or minutes of the Conference. 

Tenth, No person shall be elected a member of the Con- 
ference, who hath not been admitted into connexion with 
the Conference as a Preacher and Expounder of God's holy 
word, as aforesaid, for twelve months. 

Eleventh, The Conference shall not, nor may nominate 
or appoint any person to the use and enjoyment of, or to 



* This is the only power which Mr. Wesley has ever exercised, and 
must be invested in the Conference after his decease, to enable them to 
preserve the body pure. 



DEED OF DECLARATION. 7 

preach and expound God's holy word in any of the chapels 
and premises so given or conveyed, or which may be given 
or conveyed upon the trusts aforesaid, who is not either a 
member of the Conference, or admitted into connexion with 
the same, or upon trial, as aforesaid ; nor appoint any per- 
son for more than three years successively to the use and 
enjoyment of any chapels and premises already given, or to 
be given or conveyed upon the trusts aforesaid, except or- 
dained ministers of the Church of England. 

Twelfth, That the Conference shall and may appoint the 
place of holding the yearly assembly thereof at any other 
city, town, or place, than London, Bristol, or Leeds, when 
it shall seem expedient so to do. 

Thirteenth, And, for the convenience of the chapels and 
premises already, or which may hereafter be given or con- 
veyed upon the trusts aforesaid, situate in Ireland, or other 
parts out of the kingdom of Great Britain, the Conference 
shall and may, when and as often as it shall seem expe- 
dient, but not otherwise, appoint and delegate any member 
or members of the Conference, with all or any of the powers, 
privileges, and advantages hereinbefore contained or vested 
in the Conference ; and all and every the acts, admissions, 
expulsions, and appointments whatsoever of such member 
or members of the Conference so appointed and delegated 
as aforesaid, the same being put into writing, and signed by 
such delegate or delegates, and entered in the journals or 
minutes of the Conference, and subscribed, as after-men- 
tioned, shall be deemed, taken, and be, the acts, admissions, 
expulsions, and appointments of the Conference, to all 
intents, constructions, and purposes whatsoever, from the 
respective times when the same shall be done by such 
delegate or delegates, notwithstanding any thing herein 
contained to the contrary. 

Fourteenth* All resolutions and orders touching elections, 
admissions, expulsions, consents, dispensations, delegations, 
or appointments, and acts whatsoever of the Conference, 
shall be entered and written in the journals or minutes of 
the Conference, which shall be kept for that purpose, 
publicly read, and then subscribed by the President and 
Secretary thereof for the time being, during the time such 
Conference shall be assembled ; and when so entered and 
subscribed, shall be had, taken, received, and be the acts 
of the Conference ; and such entry and subscription, as 
aforesaid, shall be had, taken, received, and be evidence 
of all and every such acts of the said Conference, and of 
their said delegates, without the aid of any other proof; 

* This regulation is necessary, for the preservation of order. 



8 DEED OF DECLARATION. 

and whatever shall not be so entered and subscribed, as 
aforesaid, shall not be had, taken, received, or be the act of 
the Conference : and the said President and Secretary are 
hereby required and obliged to enter and subscribe, as afore- 
said, every act whatever of the Conference. 

Lastly * Whenever the said Conference shall be reduced 
under the number of forty members, and continue so re- 
duced for three yearly assemblies thereof successively, or 
whenever the members thereof shall decline or neglect to 
meet together annually for the purposes aforesaid, during 
the space of three years, that then, and in either of the said 
events, the Conference of the people called Methodists shall 
be extinguished, and all the aforesaid powers, privileges, 
and advantages shall cease ; and the said chapels and 
premises, and all other chapels and premises, which now 
are, or hereafter may be, settled, given, or conveyed, upon 
the trusts aforesaid, shall vest in the trustees for the time 
being of the said chapels and premises respectively, and 
their successors for ever ; upon trust that they, and the 
survivors of them, and the trustees for the time being, do, 
shall, and may, appoint such person and persons to preach 
and expound God's holy word therein, and to have the use 
and enjoyment thereof for such time, and in such manner, 
as to them shall seem proper. 

fPROViDED always, that nothing herein contained shall 
extend, or be construed to extend, to extinguish, lessen, or 
abridge the life-estate of the said John Wesley and Charles 
Wesley, or either of them, of and in any of the said chapels 
and premises, or any other chapels and premises wherein 
they the said John Wesley and Charles Wesley, or either 
of them, now have, or may have, any estate or interest, 
power or authority, whatsoever. In witness whereof the 
said John Wesley hath hereunto set his hand and seal, the 
twenty-eighth day of February, in the twenty-fourth year 

* By this rule care is taken, as far as possible, that the chapels be ever 
applied to their original design, as places of divine worship, as it enacts, 
That the Trustees respectively shall have full power to nominate Preachers 
for the chapels for ever, if the members of the Conference so far neglect 
their duty, that forty of them be not assembled for three years successively , 
at the usual time of holding the Conference, and at the places appointed 
by the preceding Conferences. 

+ The word life-estate, which has been exceedingly misunderstood by 
many, and which is a common term in law, means no more than the 
exercise of all the powers during Mr. Y/esley's life, which had been already 
vested in him by former deeds, or should be by future deeds. It was not 
in his power to give himself any further rights or privileges in the chapels, 
than those which the trust-deeds of each chapel respectively invested him 
with. The clause amounts merely to a reservation of his former powers, 
and not to an addition of any new right or privilege whatsoever. 



DEED OF DECLARATION. 9 

of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by 
the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, 
king, defender of the faith, and so forth, and in the year of 
our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four. 
. JOHN (Seal) WESLEY.* 

Sealed and delivered (being first 
duly stamped) in the presence of 

William Clulow, Quality-court, 

Chancery-lane, London. 
Richard Young, Clerk to the said 
William Clulow. 

The above is a true copy of the original deed, which is 
enrolled in Chancery, and was therewith examined by us, 

William Clulow, 
Richard Young. 

* The following invaluable document, as being one of the last public 
acts of Mr. Wesley, and as showing his affectionate solicitude for the 
happiness of all his sons in the Gospel, is thought to be deserving of a 
special record in this place. This truly patriarchal man, foreseeing the 
possibility that power and influence in the hands of some of the Preachers 
might, at a future period, be a temptation to assume a superiority over the 
rest of their brethren, and to employ their influence with partiality (espe- 
cially as it respects the appointment of the Preachers, and other temporal 
advantages), as with his dying breath, thus addressed the Preachers in a 
letter, which Mr. Joseph Bradford (in whose custody it appears to have 
been placed by Mr. Weslev) delivered to the President of Conference in 
1791:— 

TO THE METHODIST CONFERENCE. 

My Deae Brethren, Chester, April 7, 1785. 

Some of our Travelling Preachers have expressed a fear, that, after 
my decease, you would exclude them either from preaching in connexion 
with you, or from some other privileges which they now enjoy. I know 
no other way to prevent any such inconvenience, than to leave these my 
last words with you. 

I beseech you, by the mercies of God, that you never avail yourselves 
of the Deed of Declaration, to assume any superiority over your Brethren ; 
but let all things go on, among thco Itinerants who choose to remain 
together, exactly in the same manner as when I was with you, so far as 
circumstances will permit. 

In particular, I beseech you, if you ever loved me, and if you now love 
God and your Brethren, to have no respect of persons, in stationing the 
Preachers, in choosing Children for Kingswood-school,in disposing of the 
Yearly Contribution and the Preachers' Fund, or any other public Money. 
But do all things with a single eye, as I have done from the beginning. 
Go on thus, doing all things without prejudice and partiality, and God 
will be with you even to the end. 

JOHN WESLEY. 

N. B. The Conference have unanimously resolved, that all the Preachers 
who are in full connexion with them, shall enjoy every privilege that the 
members of the Conference enjoy, agreeably to the above-written letter of 
our venerable deceased Father in the Gospel. 
B 2 



10 

MR. WESLEY'S WILL. 

As there are certain particulars contained in Mr. Wes- 
ley's Will which refer to the above Deed of Decla- 
ration, and to other parts of the economy of Methodism, 
this is, perhaps, the most suitable place for its insertion. 

In the name of God, Amen ! 

I John Wesley, Clerk, some time Fellow of Lincoln- 
College, Oxford, revoking all others, appoint this to be my 
last Will and Testament. 

I give all my books now on sale, and the copies of them 
(only subject to a rent charge of 857. a year to the widow 
and children of my brother*), to my faithful friends, John 
Horton, Merchant, George Wolff, Merchant, and William 
Marriott, Stockbroker, ail of London, in trust for the gene- 
ral fund of the Methodist Conference in carrying on the 
work of God by Itinerant Preachers : on condition that 
they permit the following committee, Thomas Coke, James 
Creighton, Peard Dickenson, Thomas Rankin, George 
Whitfield, and the London Assistant for the time being, 
still to superintend the printing press, and to employ 
Hannah Paramore and George Paramore, as heretofore, 
unless four of the Committee judge a change to be needful. 

I give the books, furniture, and whatever else belongs to 
me in the three houses at Kingswood, in trust to Thomas 
Coke, Alexander Mather, and Henry Moore, to be still em- 
ployed in teaching and maintaining the children of poor 
Travelling Preachers. 

I give to Thomas Coke, Doctor John Whitehead, and 
Henry Moore, all the books which are in my study and 
bedchamber at London, and in my studies elsewhere, in 
trust for the use of the Preachers who shall labour there 
from time to time. 

I give the coins, and whatever else is found in the drawer 
of my bureau at London, to my dear grand-daughters, 
Mary and Jane Smith. 

I give all my manuscripts to Thomas Coke, Doctor 
Whitehead, and Henry Moore, to be burnt or published, 
as they see good. 

I give whatever money remains in my bureau and pockets 
at my decease, to be equally divided between Thomas 
Briscoe, William Collins, John Easton, and Isaac Brown. 

I desire my gowns, cassocks, sashes, and bands, may re- 
main at the Chapel for the use of the Clergymen attending 
there. 



It was found upon inquiry that the principal sum due was l,Q0Ql. 



mr. wesley's will. 11 

I desire the London Assistant for the time being to divide 
the rest of my wearing apparel between those four of the 
Travelling Preachers that want it most ; only my pelisse I 
give to the Rev Mr. Creighton ; my watch to my friend 
Joseph Bradford ; my gold seal to Eliz. Ritchie. 

I give my chaise and horses to James Ward and Charles 
Wheeler, in trust, to be sold, and the money to be divided, 
one half to Hannah Abbott, and the other to the poor mem- 
bers of the Select Society. 

Out of the first money which arises from the sale of 
books, I bequeath to my dear sister, Martha Hall (if alive), 
40/., to Mr. Creighton aforesaid, 40/., and to the Rev. Mr. 
Heath, 60/. 

And whereas I am empowered by a late Deed to name 
the persons who are to preach in the New Chapel at Lon- 
don (the Clergymen for a continuance), and by another 
Deed to name a Committee for appointing Preachers in the 
New Chapel at Bath, I do hereby appoint John Richardson, 
Thomas Coke, James Creighton, Peard Dickenson, Clerks; 
Alexander Mather, William Thompson, Henry Moore, 
Andrew Blair, John Valton, Joseph Bradford, James 
Rogers, and William Myles, to preach in the New Chapel at 
London, and to be the Committee for appointing Preachers 
in the New Chapel at Bath.* 

I likewise appoint Henry Brooke, painter, Arthur Keen, 

* In the above Will it will be seen, tbat Mr. Wesley, in accordance 
with the preceding Deed, specially provided for the supply of the New 
Chapel in London, and the New Chapel in Bath, by nominating certain 
Preachers to officiate in the former, and to constitute a Committee for ap- 
pointing Preachers to officiate in the latter. As this, however, was an 
occasion of uneasiness to several of the Preachers, after considerable con- 
versation it was agreed, in order to remove every ground of dissatisfac- 
tion, and to promote and perpetuate good-will and harmony among the 
Brethren, that the Preachers specified in the Will for the above pur- 
poses, should be requested to use the authority thus vested in them, in 
entire subservience to the Conference. To this request they accordingly 
agreed, and the following Declaration was enrolled in the Journal of the 
Conference, and signed (with the exception of Mr. Richardson, who was 
not present) by each of those Preachers, as follows : — ■ 

" We, the underwritten, being appointed by the Will of the late Rev. 
John Wesley, as a Committee to preach in, and appoint Preachers for 
the New Chapel, in the City Road, London ; and also the Methodist 
Chapel in King Street, in Bath : Do engage, that we will use all the 
rights and privileges given us by Mr. Wesley, in the present instance, in 
entire subservience to the Conference. 

Thomas Coke, Andrew Blair, 

James Creighton, John Valton, 
Peard Dickenson, Joseph Bradford, 
Alexander Mather, James Rogers, 
William Thompson, William Myles." 
1791. Henry Moore, 



12 mr. wesley's will. 

gent., and William Whitestone, stationer, all of Dublin, to 
receive the annuity of 5Z. (English) left to Kingswood School 
by the late Roger Shiel, Esq. 

I give 61. to be divided among the six poor men, named 
by the Assistant, who shall carry my body to the grave ; for 
I particularly desire there may be no hearse, no coach, no 
escutcheon, no pomp, except the tears of them that loved me, 
and are following me to Abraham's bosom. I solemnly 
adjure my Executors, in the name of God, punctually to ob- 
serve this. 

Lastly, I give to each of those Travelling Preachers who 
shall remain in the Connexion six months after my decease, 
as a little token of my love, the eight volumes of sermons. 

I appoint John Horton, George Wolff, and William 
Marriott, aforesaid, to be the Executors of this my last Will 
and Testament ; for which trouble they will receive no re- 
compense till the resurrection of the just. 

Witness my hand and seal, the 20th day of February, 
1789. JOHN YfESLEY (Seal). 

Signed, sealed, and delivered by the said Testator as and for 
his last Will and Testament, in the presence of us, 
William Clulow, 
Elizabeth Clulow. 



Should there be any part of my personal estate undis- 
posed of by this my Will, I give the same unto my two 
nieces, E. Ellison and S. Collet, equally. 

JOHN WESLEY. 
William Clulow, 
Elizabeth Clulow. 



Feb. 25, 1789. 
I give my types, printing-presses, and every thing per- 
taining thereto, to Mr. Thomas Rankin and Mr. George 
Whitfield, in trust for the use of the Conference. 

JOHN WESLEY. 



13 

LARGE MINUTES. 

The next public document which claims attention, — 
that by which the special character and work of the 
Preachers are defined, and which contains most of the 
Rules whereby they consent to be governed, — is generally 
called the "Large Minutes" They are here subjoined: — 

Minutes of several Conversations, between the Rev. John 

Wesley, A.M., and others. From the Year 1744 to the 

Year 1789- 

It is desired, That all things be considered as in the im- 
mediate presence of God. 

That every person speak freely whatever is in his heart. 

Q. 1. How may we best improve the time of this Con- 
ference ? 

A. 1. While we are conversing, let us have an especial 
care to set God always before us. 

2. In the intermediate hours, let us redeem all the time 
we can for private exercises. 

3. Therein let us give ourselves to prayer for one another, 
and for a blessing on this our labour. 

Q. 2. Have our Conferences been as useful as they 
might have been? 

A. No : we have been continually straitened for time. 
Hence, scarce any thing has been searched to the bottom. 
To remedy this, let every Conference last nine days, con- 
cluding on Wednesday in the second week. 

Q. 3. What may we reasonably believe to be God's de- 
sign in raising up the Preachers called Methodists ? 

A. Not to form any new Sect, but to reform the nation, 
particularly the Church; and to spread scriptural holiness 
over the land. 

Q. 4. What was the rise of Methodism, so called? 

A. In 1729, two young men, reading the Bible, saw they 
could not be saved without holiness, followed after it, and 
incited others so to do. In 1737, they saw holiness comes 
by faith. They saw likewise, that men are justified before 
they are sanctified : but still holiness was their point. 

God then thrust them out, utterly against their will, to 
raise a holy people. When Satan could no otherwise 
hinder this, he threw Calvinism in the way; and then 
Antinomianism, which strikes directly at the root of all 
holiness. 

Q. 5. Is it advisable for us to preach in as many places 
as we can, without forming any Societies ? 

A. By no means ; we have made the trial in various 
places, and that for a considerable time; but all the seed 



14 LARGE MINUTES. 

has fallen as by the highway-side. There is scarce any 
fruit remaining. 

Q. 6. Where should we endeavour to preach most ? 

A. 1. Where there is the greatest number of quiet and 
willing hearers : where there is most fruit. 

Q. 7. Is field -preaching unlawful ? 

A. We conceive not. We do not know that it is contrary 
to any law, either of God or man. 

Q. 8. Have we not used it too sparingly ? 

A. It seems we have. 1. Because our call is to save 
that which is lost ; now we cannot expect them to seek us, 
therefore, we should go and seek them. 2. Because we are 
particularly called, by going into the highways and hedges 
(which none else will do), to compel them to come in. 3. Be- 
cause that reason is not good, ' ' The house will hold all that 
come." The house may hold all that come to the house ; 
but not all that would come to the field. 

The greatest hindrance to this, you are to expect from 
rich, or cowardly, or lazy Methodists. But regard them 
not, neither Stewards, Leaders, nor People. Whenever the 
weather will permit, go out in God's name into the most 
public places, and call all to repent and believe the Gospel : 
every Sunday in particular ; especially where there are old 
Societies, lest they settle upon their lees. 

The Stewards will frequently oppose this, lest they lose 
their usual collection. But this is not a sufficient reason 
against it. Shall we barter souls for money ? 

Q. 9- Ought we not diligently to observe in what places 
God is pleased at any time to pour out his Spirit more 
abundantly ? 

A. We ought : and at that same time to send more la- 
bourers than usual into that part of the harvest. 

But whence shall we have them ? 1 . So far as we can 
afford it, we will keep a reserve of Preachers at Kingswood. 
2. Let an exact list be kept of those who are proposed for 
trial, but not accepted. 

Q. 10. How often shall we permit strangers to be pre- 
sent at the meeting of the Society ? 

A. At every other meeting of the Society in everyplace, 
let no stranger be admitted. At other times they may ; but 
the same person not above twice or thrice. In order to 
this, see that all, in every place, show their tickets before 
they come in. If the Stewards and Leaders are not exact 
herein, employ others that have more resolution. 

Q. 11. How may the Leaders of Classes be made more 
useful ? 

A. 1. Let each of them be diligently examined concern- 
ing his method of meeting a Class. 



LARGE MINUTES. 15 

Let this be done with all possible exactness at the next 
quarterly visitation. And, in order to this, allow sufficient 
time for the visiting of each Society. 

2. Let each Leader carefully inquire how every soul in 
his Class prospers. Not only how each person observes 
the outward rules, but how he grows in the knowledge and 
love of God. 

3. Let the Leaders converse with the Assistant frequently 
and freely. 

Q. 12. Can any thing farther be done, in order to make 
the meetings of the Classes lively and profitable ? 
A. 1. Change improper Leaders. 

2. Let the Leaders frequently meet each other's Classes. 

3. Let us observe which Leaders are the most useful, and 
let these meet the other Classes as often as possible. 

4. See that all the Leaders be not only men of sound 
judgment, but men truly devoted to God. 

Q. 13. How can we farther assist those under our care? 

A. 1. By meeting the married men and women together, 
the first Sunday after the Visitation ; the single men and 
women apart, on the two following, in all the large Societies : 
this has been much neglected. 

2. By instructing them at their own houses. What un- 
speakable need is there of this ! The world say, " The 
Methodists are no better than other people." This is not 
true. But it is nearer the truth than Ave are willing to 
believe. 

N. B. For, 1, Personal religion either toward God or man, 
is amazingly superficial among us. 

I can but just touch on a few generals. How little faith 
is there among us ! How little communion with God ! How 
little living in heaven, walking in eternity, deadness to 
every creature ! How much love of the world ! desire of 
pleasure, of ease, of getting money ! 

How little brotherly love ! What continual judging one 
another ! What gossiping, evil-speaking, tale-bearing ! 
What want of moral honesty ! To instance only in one or 
two particulars : 

Who does as he would be done by, in buying and selling ? 
Particularly in selling horses. Write him a knave that 
does not. And the Methodist knave is the worst of all 
knaves. 

2. Family religion is shamefully wanting, and almost in 
every branch. 

And the Methodists in general will be little the better, 
till we take quite another course with them. For what 
avails public preaching alone, though we could preach like 
angels ? 



16 LARGE MINUTES. 

We must, yea, every travelling Preacher must, instruct 
them from house to house. Till this be done, and that in 
good earnest, the Methodists will be little better than other 
people. 

Our religion is not deep, universal, uniform : but super- 
ficial, partial, uneven. It will be so, till we spend half as 
much time in this visiting, as we now do in talking uselessly. 

Can we find a better method of doing this than Mr. 
Baxter's ? If not, let us adopt it without delay. His whole 
tract, entitled " Gildas Silvianus," is well worth a careful 
perusal. A short extract from it I will subjoin. Speaking 
of this visiting from house to house, he says (page 351), 

" We shall find many hinderances, both in ourselves and 
in the people. 

" 1 . In ourselves there is much dulness and laziness : so 
that there will be much ado to get us to be faithful in the work. 

" 2. We have a base, man-pleasing temper, so that we 
let men perish, rather than lose their love : we let them go 
quietly to hell, lest we should anger them. 

"3. Some of us have also a foolish bashfulness. We 
know not how to begin, and blush to contradict the devil. 

"4. But the greatest hinderance is, weakness of faith. 
Our whole motion is weak, because the spring of it is weak. 

"5. Lastly, we are unskilful in the work. How few 
know how "to deal with men, so as to get within them, and 
suit all our discourse to their several conditions and tem- 
pers ; to choose the fittest subjects, and follow them with 
a holy mixture of seriousness, and terror, and love, and 
meekness ! 

" And we have many difficulties to grapple with in our 
people. 

" 1. Too many of them will be unwilling to be taught, 
till we conquer their perverseness, by the force of reason, 
and the power of love. 

"2. And many are so dull, that they will shun being 
taught, for fear of showing their dulness. And, indeed, you 
will find it extremely hard to make them understand the 
very plainest points. 

"3. And it is still harder to fix things on their hearts, 
without which all our labour is lost. If you have not, 
therefore, great seriousness and fervency, what good can 
you expect ? And after all, it is grace alone that must do 
the work. 

"4. And, when we have made some impressions on their 
hearts, if we look not after them, they will soon die away/' 

But as great as this labour of private instruction is, it is 
absolutely necessary. For, after all our preaching, many 
of our people are almost as ignorant as if they had never 



LARGE MINUTES. 17 

heard the Gospel. I speak as plainly as I can, yet I fre- 
quently meet with those who have been my hearers many 
years, who know not whether Christ be God or man. And 
how few are there that know the nature of repentance, 
faith, and holiness ? Most of them have a sort of confi- 
dence that God will save them, while the world has their 
hearts. I have found by experience, that one of these has 
learned more from one hour's close discourse, than from ten 
years' public preaching 

And, undoubtedly, this private application is implied in 
those solemn words of the Apostle, " I charge thee before 
God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick 
and dead at his appearing and his kingdom ; preach the 
word, be instant in season, out of season : reprove, rebuke, 
exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine." 

brethren, if we could but set this work on foot in all 
our Societies, and prosecute it zealously, what glory would 
redound to God ! If the common ignorance were banished, 
and every shop and every house busied in speaking of the 
word and works of God ; surely God would dwell in our 
habitations, and make us his delight. 

And this is absolutely necessary to the welfare of our 
people, many of whom neither believe nor repent to this 
day. Look round, and see how many of them are still in 
apparent danger of damnation. And how can you walk, 
and talk, and be merry with such people, when you know 
their case ? Methinks, when you look them in the face, 
you should break forth into tears, as the Prophet did when 
he looked upon Hazael, and then set on them with the 
most vehement and importunate exhortations. O, for 
God's sake, and for the sake of your poor souls, bestir your- 
selves, and spare no pains that may conduce to their salvation. 

What cause have we to blush before the Lord this day, 
that we have so long neglected this good work !- If we had 
but set upon it sooner, how many more might have been 
brought to Christ ! And how much holier and happier 
might we have made our Societies before now ! And why 
might we not have done it sooner? There were many 
hinderances : and so there always will be. But the greatest 
hinderance was in ourselves, in our littleness of faith and love. 

But it is objected, I. This will take up so much time, 
that we shall not have time to follow our studies. 

1 answer, 1. Gaining knowledge is a good thing; but 
saving souls is a better. 2. By this very thing, you will 
gain the most excellent knowledge, that of God and eternity. 
3. You will have time for gaining other knowledge too, if 
you spend all your mornings therein. Only sleep not more 
than you need ; and never be idle or triflingly employed. 



18 LARGE MINUTES. 

But, 4, If you can do but one, let your studies alone. I 
would throw by all the libraries in the world, rather than 
be guilty of the loss of one soul. 

I allow, in some of the country circuits, where you have 
only a day to spend in each place, you have not time for 
this excellent work. But you have, whenever you spend 
several days together in one town. 

It is objected, II. "The people will not submit to it." 
If some will not, others will. And the success with them 
will repay all your labour. O let us herein follow the 
example of St. Paul. 

1. For our general business, " Serving the Lord, with all 
humility of mind :" 2. Our special work, "Take heed to 
yourselves, and to all the flock:" 3. Our doctrine, "Re- 
pentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ :" 
4. The place, " I have taught you publicly, and from 
house to house:" 5. The object and manner of teaching, 
"I ceased not to warn every one, night and day, with, 
tears :" 6. His innocence and self-denial herein, " I have 
coveted no man's silver or gold :" 7- His patience, "Neither 
count I my life dear unto myself." And among all our 
motives, let these be ever before our eyes, 1. "The Church 
of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 
2. Grievous wolves shall enter in ; yea, of yourselves shall 
men arise, speaking perverse things." Write this upon your 
hearts, and it will do you more good than twenty years'study. 

Let every Preacher, having a catalogue of those in each 
Society, go to each house. Deal gently with them, that the 
report of it may move others to desire your coming. Give 
the children, "the Instructions for Children," and encourage 
them to get them by heart. Indeed, you will find it no easy 
matter to teach the ignorant the principles of religion. So 
true is the remark of Archbishop Usher, " Great scholars 
may think this work beneath them. But they should con- 
sider, the laying the foundation skilfully, as it is of the 
greatest importance, so it is the master-piece of the wisest 
builder. And let the wisest of us all try, whenever we 
please, we shall find, that to lay this ground-work rightly, 
to make the ignorant understand the grounds of religion, 
will put us to the trial of all our skill." 

Perhaps, in doing this, it may be well — 1. After a few 
loving words spoken to all in the house, to take each person 
singly into another room, where you may deal closely with 
him, about his sin, and misery, and duty. Set these home, 
or you will lose your labour. (At least, let none be present 
but those who are familiar with each other.) 

2. Hear what the children have learned by heart. 

3. Choose some of the weightiest points, and try if they 



LARGE MINUTES. 19 

understand them. As, " Do you believe you have sin in 
you ? What does sin deserve ? What remedy has God 
provided for guilty, helpless sinners ? " 

4. Often with the question suggest the answer. As, 
'* What is repentance ? Sorrow for sin, or a conviction that 
we are guilty, helpless sinners. What is faith ? A divine 
conviction of things not seen/' 

5. Where you perceive they do not understand the stress 
of your question, lead them into it by other questions. For 
instance, you ask, " How do you think your sins will be 
pardoned?" They answer, "By repenting and amending 
my life-'' You ask, farther, " But will your amendment 
make satisfaction for your past sins ?" They will answer, 
" I hope so, or I know not what will." One would think 
these had no knowledge of Christ at all. And some have 
not. But others have, and give such answers only, because 
they do not understand the scope of the question. Ask 
them farther, " Can you be saved without the death of 
Christ ?" They immediately say, " No." And, if you ask, 
"What has he suffered for you?" They will say, "He 
shed his blood for us." But many cannot express even 
what they have some conception of: no, not even when 
expressions are put into their mouths. With these you are 
to deal tenderly, lest they be discouraged. 

6. If you perceive them troubled, that they cannot an- 
swer, step in yourself, and take the burden off them ; 
answering the question yourself. And do it thoroughly 
and plainly, making a full explication of the whole business 
to them. 

7- When you have tried their knowledge, proceed to 
instruct them, according to their several capacities. If a 
man understand the fundamentals, speak what you perceive 
he most needs, either explaining farther some doctrines, or 
some duty, or showing him the necessity of something 
which he neglects. If he still understand not, go over it 
again till he does. 

8. Next inquire into his state, whether convinced or 
unconvinced, converted or unconverted ? Tell him, if need 
be, what conversion is ; and then renew and enforce the 
inquiry. 

9. If unconverted, labour with all your power to bring 
his heart to a sense of his condition. Set this home with a 
more earnest voice than you spoke before. Get to the heart, 
or you do nothing. 

10. Conclude all with a strong exhortation, which should 
enforce — 1. The duty of the heart, in order to receive Christ. 
2. The avoiding former sins, and constantly using the out- 
ward means. And be sure, if you can, to get their promise 



20 LARGE MINUTES. 

to forsake sin, change their company, and use the means. 
And do this solemnly, reminding them of the presence of 
God, who hears their promises, and expects the per- 
formance. 

11. Before you leave them, engage the head of each 
family to call all his family together every Sunday, before 
they go to bed, and hear what they can repeat, and so con- 
tinue till they have learned " the Instructions" perfectly. 
And afterwards, let him take care that they do not forget 
what they have learned. 

Do this in earnest, and you will soon find what a work 
you take in hand, in undertaking to be a travelling preacher ! 

Q. 14. How shall we prevent improper persons insi- 
nuating into the Society ? 

A. 1. Give Tickets to none till they are recommended by a 
Leader, with whom they have met at least two months on trial. 

2. Give Notes to none but those who are recommended 
by one you know, or till they have met three or four times 
in a Class. 

3. Give them the Rules the first time they meet. See 
that this be never neglected. 

Q. 15. When shall we admit new members ? 

A. In large towns, admit them into the bands at the 
quarterly love-feast following the Visitation. 

Q. 16. Should we not insist upon the Band-rules ? Par- 
ticularly with regard to dress ? 

A. By all means. This is no time to give any encourage- 
ment to superfluity of apparel. Therefore, give no Band- 
tickets to any, till they have left off superfluous ornaments. 
In order to this, 1. Let every Assistant read the "Thoughts 
upon Dress," at least once a year, in every large Society. 

2. In visiting the Classes, be very mild, but very strict. 

3. Allow no exempt case, not even of a married woman ; 
better one suffer than many. 4. Give no ticket to any that 
wear calashes, high heads, or enormous bonnets. 

To encourage meeting in Band ; 1. In every large Society, 
have a love-feast quarterly for the Bands only. 2. Never 
fail to meet them once a week. 3. Exhort every believer 
to embrace the advantage. 4. Give a Band-ticket to none 
till they have met a quarter on trial. 

Observe : You give none a Band-ticket before he meets, 
but after he has met ! 

Q. 17. Have those in Band left off snuff and drams ? 

A. No. Many are still enslaved to one or the other. 
In order to redress this, 1. Let no preacher touch either 
on any account. 2. Strongly dissuade our people from 
them. 3. Answer their pretences, particularly curing the 
colic. 



LARGE MINUTES. 21 

Q. 18. Do we observe any evil which has lately pre- 
vailed among our Societies ? 

A. Many of our members have married with unbelievers, 
yea, with unawakened persons. This has had fatal effects. 
They had either a cross for life, or turned back to perdition. 

Q. 1 9. What can be done to put a stop to this ? 

A. 1. Let every preacher publicly enforce the Apostle's 
caution, " Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers." 2. 
Let him openly declare, whoever does this will be expelled 
the Society. 3. When any such is expelled, let a suitable 
exhortation be subjoined. And, 4. Let all be exhorted to 
take no step in so weighty a matter, without advising with 
the most serious of their brethren. 

Q. 20. Ought any woman to marry, without the con- 
sent of her parents ? 

A. In general, she ought not. Yet there may be an 
exception. For if, I. A woman be under a necessity of 
marrying : if, 2. Her parents absolutely refuse to let her 
marry any Christian : then she may, nay, ought to marry 
without their consent. Yet even then, a Methodist Preacher 
ought not to marry her. 

Q. 21. Do not Sabbath-breaking, dram-drinking, evil- 
speaking, unprofitable conversation, lightness, expensive- 
ness, or gaiety of apparel, and contracting debts without 
due care to discharge them, still prevail in several places ? 
How may these evils be remedied? 

A. 1. Let us preach expressly on each of these heads 

2. Read in every Society the sermon on evil-speaking. 

3. Let the leaders closely examine and exhort every person 
to put away the accursed thing. 4. Let the preacher warn 
every Society, that none who is guilty herein can remain 
with us. 5. Extirpate smuggling, buying or selling un- 
customed goods, out of every Society. Let none remain 
with us, who will not totally abstain from every kind and 
degree of it. Speak tenderly, but earnestly and frequently 
of it, in every Society near the coasts. And read to them, 
and diligently disperse among them, " The Word to a 
Smuggler." 6. Extirpate bribery, receiving any things 
directly or indirectly, for voting in any election. Show no 
respect of persons herein, but expel all that touch the 
accursed thing. Largely show, both in public and private, 
the wickedness of thus selling our country. And every 
where read " The Word to a Freeholder," and disperse it 
with both hands. 

Q. 22. What shall we do to prevent scandal, when any 
of our members become bankrupt ? 

A. Let the assistant talk with him at large. And if he 
has not kept fair accounts, or has been concerned in the 



22 LARGE MINUTES. 

base practice, of raising money by coining notes, (commonly 
called the bill-trade,) let him be expelled immediately. 

Q. 23. What is the office of a Christian minister ? 

A. To watch over souls as he that must give account. 

Q. 24. In what view may we and our Helpers be con- 
sidered ? 

A. Perhaps as extraordinary messengers (*. e. out of the 
ordinary way) designed, 1 . To provoke the regular Ministers 
to jealousy. 2. To supply their lack of service, toward those 
who are perishing for want of knowledge. But how hard 
is it to abide here ? Who does not wish to be a little higher? 
Suppose, to be ordained ! 

Q. 25. What is the office of an Helper ? 

A. In the absence of a minister, to feed and guide the 
flock : in particular. 

1. To preach morning and evening. (But he is never to 
begin later in the evening than seven o'clock, unless in par- 
ticular cases.) 

2. To meet the society and the bands weekly. 

3. To meet the leaders weekly. 

Let every preacher be particularly exact in this, and in 
the morning preaching. If he has twenty hearers, let him 
preach. If not, let him sing and pray. 

N. B. Y» r e are fully determined, Never to drop the morn- 
ing preaching : and to continue preaching at five, wherever 
it is practicable, particularly in London and Bristol. 

Q. 26. What are the rules of an Helper ? 

A. 1. Be diligent. Never be unemployed a moment. 
Never be triflingly employed. Never while away time : 
neither spend any more time at any place than is strictly 
necessary. 

2. Be serious. Let your motto be, Holiness to the Lord. 
Avoid all lightness, jesting, and foolish talking. 

3. Converse sparingly and cautiously with women : par- 
ticularly with young women. 

4. Take no step toward marriage, without first consulting 
with your brethren. 

5. Believe evil of no one; unless you see it done, take 
heed how you credit it. Put the best construction on every 
thing. You know the judge is always supposed to be on 
the prisoner's side. 

6. Speak evil of no one : else your word, especially, would 
eat as doth a canker : keep your thoughts within your own 
breasts, till you come to the person concerned. 

7. Tell every one what you think wrong in him, and that 
plainly, as may be : else it will fester in your heart. Make 
all haste to cast the fire out of your bosom. 

8. Do not affect the gentleman. You have no more to 



LARGE MINUTES. 23 

do with this character, than with that of a dancing-master. 
A preacher of the gospel is the servant of all. 

9. Be ashamed of nothing but sin ; not of fetching wood 
(if time permit) or drawing water : not of cleaning your 
own shoes, or your neighbour's. 

10. Be punctual. Do every thing exactly at the time. 
And in general, do not mend our rules, but keqj them : not 
for wrath, but for conscience' sake. 

1 1 . You have nothing to do, but to save souls. There- 
fore spend and be spent in this work. And go always, not 
only to those that want you, but to those who want you most. 

Observe : It is not your business to preach so many 
times, and to take care of this or that society : but to save 
as many souls as you can ; to bring as many sinners as you 
possibly can to repentance, and with all your power to build 
them up in that holiness, without which they cannot see 
the Lord. And remember ! A Methodist Preacher is to 
mind every point, great and small, in the Methodist disci- 
pline ! Therefore you will need all the sense you have : and 
to have all your wits about you ! 

12. Act in all things, not according to your own will, 
but as a son in the gospel. As such it is your part to em- 
ploy your time, in the manner which we direct : partly, in 
preaching and visiting from house to house : partly, in 
reading, meditation, and prayer. Above all, if you labour 
with us in our Lord's vineyard, it is needful that you do 
that part of the work which we advise, at those times and 
places which we judge most for his glory. 

Q. 27. What power is this, which you exercise over 
both the Preachers and the Societies ? 

A. I will tell you all I know of the matter, taking it 
from the very beginning. 

1. In November, 1738, two or three persons, who desired 
to flee from the wrath to come, and then a few more, came 
to me in London, and desired me to advise, and pray with 
them. I said, " If you will meet me on Thursday night, I 
will help you as well as I can." More and more then de- 
sired to meet with them, till they were increased to many 
hundreds. The case was afterwards the same at Bristol, 
Kingswood, Newcastle, and many other parts of England, 
Scotland, and Ireland. It may be observed, the desire was 
on their part, not mine. My desire was, to live and die in 
retirement. But I did not see that I could refuse them my 
help, and be guiltless before God. 

Here commenced my power; namely, a power to appoint 
when and where, and how they should meet ; and to re- 
move those whose lives showed that they had not a desire 
to flee from the wrath to come. And this power remained 



24 LARGE MINUTES. 

the same, whether the people meeting together were twelve, 
or twelve hundred, or twelve thousand. 

2. In a few days some of them said, " Sir, we will not 
sit under you for nothing : we will subscribe quarterly." 
I said, " I will have nothing : for I want nothing. My 
Fellowship supplies me with all I want." One replied, " Nay, 
but you want a hundred and fifty pounds to pay for the 
lease of the Foundry : and likewise a large sum of money 
to put it into repair." On this consideration I suffered 
them to subscribe. And when the society met, I asked 
" Who will take the trouble of receiving this money, and 
paying it, where it is needful?" One said, " I will do it, 
and keep the account for you." So here was the first 
Steward. Afterwards I desired one or two more to help me 
as Stewards, and in process of time, a greater number. 

Let it be remarked, it was I myself, not the people, who 
chose these Stewards, and appointed to each the distinct 
work, wherein he was to help me, as long as I desired. And 
herein I began to exercise another sort of power, namely, 
that of appointing and removing Stewards. 

3. After a time, a young man, named Thomas Maxfield, 
came and desired to help me as a son in the gospel. Soon 
after came a second, Thomas Richards ; and then a third, 
Thomas Westall. These severally desired to serve me as 
sons, and to labour when and where I should direct. 
Observe : these likewise desired me, not I them. But I 
durst not refuse their assistance. And here commenced 
my power, to appoint each of these, when and where, and 
how to labour ; that is, while he chose to continue with 
me. For each had a power to go away when he pleased : 
as I had also, to go away from them, or any of them, if I 
had sufficient cause. The case continued the same, when 
the number of Preachers increased. I had just the same 
power still, to appoint when, and where, and how each 
should help me : and to tell any (if I saw cause), " I do not 
desire your help any longer." On these terms, and no 
other, we joined at first : on these we continued joined. 
But they do me no favour in being directed by me. It is 
true, my " reward is with the Lord." But at present I 
have nothing from it but trouble and care ; and often a 
burden, I scarce know how to bear. 

4. In 1^44, I wrote to several clergymen, and to all who 
then served me as sons in the gospel ; desiring them to 
meet me in London, and to give me their advice, concern- 
ing the best method of carrying on the work of God. And 
when their number increased, so that it was not convenient 
to invite them all, for several years I wrote to those with 
whom I desired to confer, and they only met me at London, 



LARGE MINUTES. 25 

or elsewhere : till at length I gave a general permission, 
which I afterwards saw cause to retract. 

Observe. I myself sent for these of my own free choice. 
And I sent for them to advise, not govern me. Neither 
did I at any time divest myself of any part of the power 
above described, which the Providence of God had cast 
upon me, without any design or choice of mine. 

5. What is that power ? It is a power of admitting 
into and excluding from the societies under my care : of 
choosing and removing Stewards : of receiving or not re- 
ceiving helpers ; of appointing them, when, where, and 
how, to help me ; and of desiring any of them to confer 
with me, when I see good. And as it was merely in obe- 
dience to the Providence of God, and for the good of the 
people, that I at first accepted this power, which I never 
sought ; so it is on the same consideration, not for profit, 
honour, or pleasure, that I use it at this day. 

Q. 28. What reasons can be assigned why so many 
of our preachers contract nervous disorders ? 

A. The chief reason, on Dr. Cadogan's principles, is, 
either indolence or intemperance. 1. Indolence. Several 
of them use too little exercise, far less than when they 
wrought at their trade. And this will naturally pave the 
way for many, especially nervous disorders. 2. Intemper- 
ance (though not in the vulgar sense). They take more 
food than they did when they laboured more. And let any 
man of reflection judge, how long this will consist with 
health. Or they use more sleep than when they laboured 
more. And this alone will destroy the firmness of the 
nerves. If then our preachers would avoid nervous dis- 
orders, let them, 1. Take as little meat, drink, and sleep, as 
nature will bear : and, 2. Use full as much exercise daily as 
they did before they were preachers. 

Q. 29- What general method of employing our time 
would you advise us to ? 

A. We advise you, 1. As often as possible to rise at four. 
2. From four to five in the morning, and from five to six in 
the evening, to meditate, pray and read, partly the Scrip- 
ture with the notes, partly the closely practical parts of 
what we have published. 3. From six in the morning till 
twelve (allowing an hour for breakfast) to read in order 
with much prayer, first, the Christian Library, and the 
other books which we have published in prose and verse, 
and then those which we recommend in our rules of Kings- 
wood School. 

Q. 30. Should our Helpers follow trades ? 

A. The question is not, Whether they may occasionally 
work with their hands, as St. Paul did : but whether it be 



26 LARGE MINUTES. 

proper for them to keep shop or follow merchandise ? After 
long consideration, it was agreed by all our brethren, That 
no Preacher who will not relinquish his trade of buying 
and selling, (though it were only pills, drops, or balsams,) 
shall be considered as a travelling preacher any longer. 

Q. 31. Why is it that people under our care are no 
better ? 

A. Other reasons may concur ; but the chief is, because 
we are not more knowing and more holy. 

Q. 32. But why are we not more knowing ? 

A. Because we are idle. We forget our very first rule, 
*' Be diligent. Never be unemployed a moment. Never be 
trifiingly employed. Never while away time ; neither 
spend any more time at any place than is strictly ne- 
cessary." 

I fear there is altogether a fault in this matter, and that 
few of us are clear. Which of you spends as many hours 
a day in God's work, as you did formerly in man's work ? 

We talk, talk, or read history, or what comes next to 

hand. We must, absolutely must, cure this evil, or be- 
tray the cause of God. 

But how ? 1 . Read the most useful books, and that re- 
gularly and constantly. Steadily spend all the morning in 
this employ, or at least five hours in four-and-twenty. 

" But I read only the Bible.'' Then you ought to teach 
others to read only the Bible, and by parity of reason, to 
hear only the Bible : but if so, you need preach no more. 
Just so said George Bell. And what is the fruit? Why, 
now he neither reads the Bible, nor any thing else. 

This is rank enthusiasm. If you need no book but the 
Bible, you are got above St. Paul. He wanted others too. 
"Bring the books," says he, "but especially the parch- 
ments," those wrote on parchment. 

" But I have no taste for reading." Contract a taste for 
it by use, or return to your trade. 

" But I have no books." I will give each of you, as fast 
as you will read them, books to the value of five pounds. 
And I desire the Assistants would take care, that all the 
large societies provide our works, or at least the notes, for 
the use of the preachers. 

2. In the afternoon, follow Mr. Baxter's plan. Then 
you will have no time to spare : you will have work enough 
for all your time. Then, likewise, no preacher will stay 
with us who is as salt that has lost its savour. For to such, 
this employment would be mere drudgery. And in order 
to it, you will have need of all the knowledge you have or 
can procure. 

The sum is, go into every house in course, and teach 



LARGE MINUTES. 27 

every one therein, young and old, if they belong to us, to be 
Christians, inwardly and outwardly. 

Make every particular plain to their understanding; fix 
it in their memory ; write it in their heart. In order to 
this, there must be " line upon line, precept upon precept." 
What patience, what love, what knowledge is requisite for 
this ? 

Q. 33. In what particular method should we instruct 
them ? 

A. You may, as you have time, read, explain, enforce, 

1. The rules of the society. 

2. Instructions for children. 

3. The fourth volume of sermons, and, 

4. Philip Henry's method of family prayer. 

We must needs do this, were it only to avoid idleness. 
Do we not loiter away many hours in every week ? Each 
try himself: no idleness can consist with growth in grace. 
Nay, without exactness in redeeming time, you cannot re- 
tain the grace you received in justification. 
, But what shall we do for the rising generation ? Unless 
Ave take care of this, the present revival will be res unius 
estatis : it will last only the age of a man. Who will labour 
herein? Let him that is zealous for God, and the souls ol 
men, begin now. 

1. Where there are ten children in a society, meet them, 
at least an hour every week. 

2. Talk with them every time you see any at home. 

3. Pray in earnest for them. 

4. Diligently instruct, and vehemently exhort all parents 
at their own houses. 

5. Preach expressly on education, particularly at Mid- 
summer, when you speak of Kingsvvood. " But I have no 
gift for this." Gift or no gift, you are to do it ; else you 
are not called to be a Methodist Preacher. Do it as you 
can, till you can do it as you would. Pray earnestly for 
the gift, and use the means for it. Particularly study the 
instructions and lessons for children. 

Q. 34. Why are not we more holy? Why do not we 
live in eternity ? Walk with God all the day long ? Why 
are we not all devoted to God ? Breathing the whole spirit 
of Missionaries ? 

A. Chiefly because we are enthusiasts ; looking for the 
end without using the means. 

To touch only upon two or three instances. 

Who of you rises at four in summer ? Or even at five, 
when he does not preach? 

Do you recommend to all our Societies, the five o'clock 
hour for private prayer? Do you observe it? Or any 



28 LARGE MINUTES. 

other fixed time ? Do not you find by experience, that any 
time is no time? 

Do you know the obligation and the benefit of fasting ? 
How often do you practise it ? 

The neglect of this alone is sufficient to account for our 
feebleness and faintness of spirit. We are continually 
grieving the Holy Spirit of God, by the habitual neglect of 
a plain duty ! Let us amend from this hour. 

Q. 35. But how can I fast, since it hurts my health ? 

A. There are several degrees of fasting which cannot 
hurt your health. I will instance in one. Let you and me 
every Friday (beginning on the next) avow this duty 
throughout the nation, by touching no tea, coffee, or choco- 
late in the morning, but (if we want it) half a pint of milk, 
or water gruel. Let us dine on potatoes, and (if we need it) 
eat three or four ounces of flesh in the evening. "And at 
other times, let us eat no flesh suppers. These exceedingly 
tend to breed nervous disorders. 

Q. 36. What is the best general method of preaching? 

A. 1. To invite : 2. To convince : 3. To offer Christ : 4. To 
build up ; and to do this in some measure in every sermon. 

Q. 37- Are there any smaller advices relative to preach- 
ing, which might be of use to us ? 

A Perhaps these : 1. Be sure never to disappoint a con- 
gregation, unless in case of life or death. 

2. Begin and end precisely at the time appointed. 

3. Let your whole deportment before the congregation be 
serious, weighty, and solemn. 

4. Always suit your subject to your audience. 

5. Choose the plainest texts you can. 

6. Take care not to ramble, but keep to your text, and 
make out what you take in hand. 

7. Be sparing in allegorizing, or spiritualizing. 

8. Take care of any think awkward or affected, either in 
your gesture, phrase, or pronunciation. 

9. Sing no hymns of your own composing. 

10. Print nothing without my approbation. 

11. Do not usually pray above eight or ten minutes (at 
most) without intermission. 

12. Frequently read and enlarge upon a portion of the 
notes : and let young Preachers often exhort, without tak- 
ing a text. 

13. In repeating the Lord's Prayer, remember to say, 
hallowed, not hollowed; trespass against us ; Amen. 

14. Repeat this prayer aloud after the minister as often 
as he repeats. 

15. Repeat after him aloud every confession, and both 
the doxologies in the communion-service. 



LARGE MINUTES. 29 

16. Always kneel during public prayer. 

17- Every where avail yourself of the great festivals, by 
preaching on the occasion, and singing the hymns, which 
you should take care to have in readiness. 

18. Avoid quaint words, however in fashion, as object, 
originate, very high, &c. 

19- Avoid the fashionable impropriety of leaving out the 
u in many words, as honor, vigor, &c. This is mere 
childish affectation. 

20. Beware of clownishness, either of speech or dress. 

21. Be merciful to your beast. Not only ride moderately, 
but see with your own eyes that your horse be rubbed, fed, 
and bedded. 

Q. 38. Have not some of us been led off from practical 
preaching by (what was called) preaching Christ ? 

A. Indeed we have. The most effectual way of preach- 
ing Christ, is to preach him in all his offices, and to declare 
his Law as well as his Gospel, both to believers and unbe- 
lievers. Let us strongly and closely insist upon inward and 
outward holiness, in all its branches. 

Q. 39- How shall we guard against formality in publi 
worship ? Particularly in singing ? 

A. 1. By preaching frequently on the head. 2. By 
taking care to speak only what we feel. 3. By choosing 
such hymns as are proper for the congregation. 4. By not 
singing too much at once : seldom more than five or six 
verses. 5. By suiting the tune to the words. 6. By often 
stopping short and asking the people, " Now ! Do you know 
what you said last ? Did you speak no more than you 
felt?" 

Is not this formality creeping in already, by those com- 
plex tunes, which it is scarcely possible to sing with devo- 
tion ? Such is, " Praise the Lord, ye blessed ones." Such 
the long quavering hallelujah annexed to the Morning 
Song tune, which I defy any man living to sing devoutly. 
The repeating the same words so often (but especially while 
another is repeating different words, the horrid abuse which 
runs through the modern church-music), as it shocks all 
common sense, so it necessarily brings in dead formality, 
and has no more of religion in it than a Lancashire horn- 
pipe. Besides, it is a flat contradiction to our Lord's com- 
mand, " Use not vain repetitions." For what is vain repe- 
tition, if this is not? What end of devotion does it serve ? 
Sing no anthems. 

7. Do not suffer the people to sing too slow. This natu- 
rally tends to formality, and is brought in by them who 
have either very strong, or very weak voices. 8. In every 
large Society, let them learn to sing, and let them always 



80 LARGE MINUTES. 

learn our own tunes first. 9- Let the women constantly 
sing their parts alone. Let no man sing with them, unless 
he understands the notes, and sings the bass, as it is pricked 
down in the book. 10. Introduce no new tunes, till they 
are perfect in the old. 11. Let no organ be placed any 
where, till proposed in the Conference. 12. Recommend 
our tune-book every where : and if you cannot sing your- 
self, choose a person or two in each place to pitch the tune 
for yon.. 13. Exhort every one in the congregation to 
sing, not one in ten only. 14. If a Preacher be present, let 
no singer give out the words. 15. When they would teach 
a tune to the congregation, they must sing only the tenor. 

After preaching, take a little lemonade, mild ale, or can- 
died orange-peel. All spirituous liquors, at that time espe- 
cially, are deadly poison. 

Q. 40. Who is the Assistant?* 

A. That Preacher in each Circuit, who is appointed 
from time to time, to take charge of the Societies, and the 
other Preachers therein. 

Q. 41. How should an Assistant be qualified for his 
charge ? 

A. By walking closely with God, and having his work 
greatly at heart : by understanding and loving discipline, 
out's in particular : and by loving the Church of England, 
and resolving not to separate from it. Let this be well 
observed. I fear, when the Methodists leave the church, 
God will leave them. But if they are thrust out of it, they 
will be guiltless. 

Q. 42. What is the business of an Assistant ? 

A. 1. To see that the other Preachers in his Circuit 
behave well, and want nothing. 2. To visit the Classes 
quarterly, regulate the Bands, and deliver tickets. 3. To 
take in and put out of the Society or the Bands. 4. To 
keep the Watch-nights and Love-feasts. 5. To hold Quar- 
terly Meetings, and therein diligently to inquire both into 
the temporal and spiritual state of each Society. 6. To 
take care that every Society be duly supplied with books ; 
particularly with Kempis, Instructions for Children, and 
the Primitive Physic, which ought to be in every house. 
O, why is not this regarded? 7- To send from every 
Quarterly Meeting a circumstantial account (to London) 
of every remarkable conversion and remarkable death. S. 
To take exact lists of his Societies every quarter, and send 

* This appellation was at first, and during the life-time of Mr. Wesley, 
given to those persons who assisted him in taking care of the Societies ; 
but the same class cf officers is now designated " the Superintendent," or 
'•' the Superintendent Preacher." 



LARGE MINUTES. 31 

them up to London. 9- To meet the unmarried men and 
women, and the single men and women in the large So- 
cieties, once a quarter. To overlook the accounts of all the 
Stewards. 

Q. 43. Has the office of an Assistant been well exe- 
cuted ? 

A. No, not by half the Assistants. 1 Who has sent me 
word, whether the other Preachers behave well or ill? 2. 
Who has visited all the Classes, and regulated the Bands 
quarterly ? 3. Love-feasts for the Bands have been ne- 
glected ; neither have persons been duly taken in and put 
out of the Bands. 4. The Societies are not half supplied 
with books ; not even with those above-mentioned. O, ex- 
ert yourselves in this ! Be not weary ! Leave no stone 
unturned ! 5. How few accounts have I had, either of re- 
markable deaths, or remarkable conversions ! 6. How few 
exact lists of the Societies ! 7- How few have met the 
married and single persons once a quarter. 

Q. 44. Are' there any other advices which you would 
give the Assistants ? 

A. Several. 1. Take a regular catalogue of your So- 
cieties, as they live in house-row. 2. Leave your successor 
a particular account of the state of the Circuit. 3. See that 
every Band-Leader has the rules of the Bands. 4. Vigor- 
ously, but calmly, enforce the rules concerning needless 
ornaments, drams, snuff and tobacco. Give no Band-ticket 
to any man or woman who does not promise to leave them 
off. 5. As soon as there are four men or women believers 
in any place, put them into a Band. 6. Suffer no Love- 
feast to last above an hour and a half: and instantly stop 
all breaking the cake with one another. 7- Warn all from 
time to time, that none are to remove from one Society to 
another, without a certificate from the Assistant in these 
words (else he will not be received in other Societies), 
" A.B., the bearer, is a member of our Society at C. I 
believe he has a sufficient cause for removing." I beg 
every Assistant to remember this. 8. Every where recom- 
mend decency and cleanliness. Cleanliness is next to god- 
liness. 9- Exhort all that were brought up in the church 
to continue therein. Set the example yourself; and imme^ 
diately change every plan, that would hinder their being at 
church, at least two Sundays in four. Carefully avoid 
whatever has a tendency to separate men from the church ; 
and let all the servants in our Preaching-houses go to 
church once on Sunday at least. 

Is there not a cause ? Are we not unawares, by little 
and little, sliding into a separation from the church ? O, 
use every means to prevent this ! 1. Exhort all our people 



32 ' LARGE MINUTES. 

to keep close to the church and sacrament. 2. Warn them 
all against niceness in hearing, a prevailing evil! 3. Warn 
them also against despising the prayers of the church. 4. 
Against calling our Society the church. 5. Against calling 
our Preachers, Ministers ; our houses, Meeting-houses; call 
them plain Preaching-houses, or Chapels 6. Do not li- 
cense them as Dissenters ; the proper paper to be sent in 
at the Assizes, Sessions, or Bishop's Court, is this : — 
" A. jB. has set apart his house in C. for public worship, 
of which he desires a certificate." — N.B. The justice does 
not license the house, but the Act of Parliament. 7. Do 
not license yourself till you are constrained ; and then not 
as a Dissenter, but a Methodist. It is time enough, when 
you are prosecuted, to take the oaths. And by so doing, 
you are licensed. 

Q. 45. But are we not Dissenters ? 

A. Ko. Although we call sinners to repentance in all 
places of God's dominion ; and although we frequently use 
extemporary prayer, and unite together in a religious So- 
ciety ; yet we are not Disseniers in the only sense which our 
law acknowledges, namely, those who renounce the service 
of the Church. We do not : we dare not separate from it. 
We are not Seceders, nor do we bear any resemblance to 
them. We set out upon quite opposite principles. The 
Seceders laid the very foundation of their work, in judging 
and condemning others. We laid the foundation of our 
work in judging and condemning ourselves. They begin 
every where, with showing their hearers, how fallen the 
church and ministers are. We begin every where, with 
showing our hearers, how fallen they are in themselves. 
What they do in America, or what their minutes say on 
this subject, is nothing to us. We will keep in the good 
old way. 

And never let us make light of going to church, either 
by word or deed. Remember Mr. Hook, a very eminent 
and a zealous Papist. When I asked him, " Sir, what do 
you for public worship here, where you have no Romish 
service?" He answered, " Sir, I am 'so fully convinced, it 
is the duty of every man to worship God in public, that I go 
to church every Sunday. If I cannot have such worship 
as I would, I will have such worship as I can." 

But some may say, " Our own service is public worship." 
Yes ; but not such as supersedes the church service. It 
presupposes public prayer, like the sermons at the Uni- 
versity. If it were designed to be instead of the church 
service, it would be essentially defective. For it seldom 
has the four grand parts of public prayer, deprecation, 
petition, intercession, and thanksgiving. 



i 



LARGE MINUTES. 33 

If the people put ours in the room of the church service, 
we hurt them that stay with us, and ruin them that leave 
us. For then they will go no where, but lounge the Sabbath 
away, without any public worship at all. 

Q. 46. Nay, but is it not our duty to separate from the 
church, considering the wickedness both of the clergy and 
the people ? 

A. We conceive not, 1. Because both the priests and 
the people were full as wicked in the Jewish church. And 
yet it was not the duty of the holy Israelites to separate 
from them. 2. Neither did our Lord command his disciples 
to separate from them : he rather commanded the contrary. 
3 Hence it is clear, that could not be the meaning of St. 
Paul's words, " Come out from among them, and be ye 
separate." 

Q. 47. But what reasons are there, why we should not 
separate from the church ? 

A. Among others, those 'which were printed above twenty 
years ago, entitled, " Reasons against a Separation from the 
Church of England." 

We allow two exceptions, 1. If the parish minister be a 
notoriously wicked man. 2. If he preach Socinianism, 
Arianism, or any other essentially false doctrine. 

Q. 48. Do we sufficiently watch over our Helpers ? 

A. We might consider those that are with us as our 
pupils ; into whose behaviour and studies we should inquire 
every day. 

Should we not frequently ask each, Do you walk closely 
with God ? Have you now fellowship with the Father and 
the Son ? At what hour do you rise ? Do you punctually 
observe the morning and evening hour of retirement ? Do 
you spend the day in the manner which we advise ? Do 
you converse seriously, usefully, and closely ? 

To be more particular : — 

Do you use all the means of grace yourself, and enforce 
the use of them on all other persons ? 

They are either instituted or prudential. 

I. The instituted are, 

1. Prayer; private, family, public ; consisting of depre- 
cation, petition, intercession, and thanksgiving. Do you 
use each of these ? 

Do you use private prayer every morning and evening ? 
If you can, at five in the .evening, and the hour before or 
after morning preaching ? 

Do you forecast daily, wherever you are, how to secure 
these hours ? Do you avow it every where ? Do you ask 
every where, have you family prayer? Do you retire at 
five o'clock. 

c 2 



34 LARGE MINUTES. 

II. Searching the Scriptures, by 

1. Reading ; constantly, some part of every day, regularly 
all the Bible in order : carefully, with the notes ; seriously, 
with prayer before and after ; fruitfully, immediately prac- 
tising what you learn there ? 

2. Meditating : at set times ? By any rule ? 

3. Hearing: every morning ? 

Carefully ? With prayer, before, at, after ? 

Immediately putting in practice ? 

Have you a New Testament always about you ? 

III. The Lord's Supper. Do you use this at every op- 
portunity ? 

With solemn prayer before ? With earnest and deliberate 
self-devotion? 

IV. Fasting. How do you fast every Friday ? 

V. Christian conference. Are you convinced how im- 
portant and how difficult it is to- " order your conversation 
aright ?" 

Is it " always in grace ? Seasoned with salt ? Meet to 
minister grace to the hearers ?" 

Do not you converse too long at a time ? Is not an hour 
commonly enough ? 

Would it not be well, always to have a determinate end 
in view ? And to pray before and after it ? 

II. Prudential means we may use, either as common 
Christians, as Methodists, as Preachers, or as Assistants. 

1. As common Christians : what particular rules have 
you, in order to grow in grace ? What arts of holy living ? 

2. As Methodists, do you never miss your class or band ? 

3. As Preachers, do you meet every Society? Also, the 
leaders and bands, if any ? 

4. As Assistants, have you thoroughly considered your 
office ? And do you make a conscience of executing every 
part of it ? 

These means may be used without fruit. But there are 
some means which cannot ; namely, watching, denying 
ourselves, taking up our cross, exercise of the presence of 
God. 

1. Do you steadily watch against the world? The devil? 
Yourselves ? Your besetting sin ? 

2. Do you deny yourself every useless pleasure of sense ? 
Imagination ? Honour ? Are you temperate in all things ? 
Instance in food. Do you use only that kind and that de- 
gree, which is best both for your body and soul ? Do you 
see the necessity of this ? 

3. Do you eat no flesh suppers ? No late suppers ? 

4. Do you eat no more at each meal than is necessary ? 
Are you not heavy or drowsy after dinner ? 



LARGE MINUTES. 85 

5. Do you use only that kind and that degree of drink 
which is best both for your body and soul ? 

6. Do you drink water? Why not? Did you ever? 
Why did you leave it off? If not for health, when will you 
begin again ? To-day ? 

7. How often do you drink wine or ale ? Every day ? 
Do you want it ? 

8. Wherein do you "take up your cross daily ?" Do you 
cheerfully bear your cross (whatever is grievous to nature) 
as a gift of God, and labour to profit thereby? 

9. Do you endeavour to set God always before you? To 
see his eye continually fixed upon you ? Never can you use 
these means but a blessing will ensue. And the more you 
use them, the more will you grow in grace. 

Q. 49- What can be done, in order to a closer union 
of our Helpers with each other? 

A. I. Let them be deeply convinced of the want there 
is of it at present, and the absolute necessity of it. 

2. Let them pray for a desire of union. 

3. Let them speak freely to each other. 

4. When they meet, let them never part without prayer. 

5. Let them beware, how they despise each other's 
gifts. 

6. Let them never speak slightingly of each other in any 
kind. 

7. Let them defend one another's characters in every 
thing, so far as consists with truth. And, 

8. Let them labour, in honour each to prefer the other 
before himself. 

Q. 50. How shall we try those who think they are 
moved by the Holy Ghost to preach? 

A. Inquire, 1. Do they know God as a pardoning God? 
Have they the love of God abiding in them? Do they 
desire and seek nothing but God? And, are they holy in 
all manner of conversation? 2. Have they gifts (as well 
as grace) for the work ? Have they (in some tolerable de- 
gree) a clear, sound understanding ? Have they a right 
judgment in the things of God ? Have they a just concep- 
tion of salvation by faith ? And has God given them any 
degree of utterance ? Do they speak justly, readily, clearly ? 
3. Have they fruit? Are any truly convinced of sin, and 
converted to God by their preaching ? 

As long as these three marks concur in any one, we 
believe he is called of God to preach. These we receive as 
sufficient proof, that he is " moved thereto by the Holy 
Ghost." 

Q. 51, What method may we use in receiving a new 
Helper ? 



36 LARGE MINUTES. 

A. A proper time for doing this is at a Conference, after 
solemn fasting and prayer. 

Every person proposed, is then to be present ; and each 
of them may be asked, 

"Have you faith in Christ? Are you going on to per- 
fection ? Do you expect to be perfected in love in this life ? 
Are you groaning after it ? Are you resolved to devote 
yourself wholly to God and to his work ? Do you know the 
Methodist-Plan ? Have you read the Plain Account ? The 
Appeals ? Do you know the rules of the Society ? Of the 
Bands? Do you keep them? Do you take no snuff, 
tobacco, drams ? Do you constantly attend the church and 
sacrament ? Have you read the Minutes of the Conference? 
Are you willing to conform to them ? Have you considered 
the rules of an Helper ? Especially the first, tenth, and 
twelfth? Will you keep them for conscience' sake ? Are 
you determined to employ all your time in the work of God ? 
Will you preach every morning and evening; endeavouring 
not to speak too long, or too loud ? Will you. diligently 
instruct the children in every place ? Will you visit from 
house to house ? Will you recommend fasting, both by 
precept and example ? 

Are you in debt? Are you engaged to marry? 

(N.B. A preacher who marries while on trial, is thereby 
set aside.) 

We may then receive him as a Probationer by giving him 
the Minutes of the Conference inscribed thus : — 

" To A. B. 

" You think it your duty to call sinners to repentance. 
Make full proof hereof, and we shall rejoice to receive you 
as a fellow-labourer/' 

Let him then read, and carefully weigh what is contained 
therein, that if he has any doubt, it may be removed. 

Observe ! Taking on trial is entirely different from ad- 
mitting a Preacher. One on trial may be either admitted 
or rejected, without doing him any wrong. Otherwise it 
would be no trial at all. Let every Assistant explain this 
to them that are on trial. 

When he has been on trial four years if recommended 
by the Assistant, he may be received into full connexion, 
by giving him the Minutes inscribed thus:— "As long as 
you freely consent to, and earnestly endeavour to walk by 
these rules, we shall rejoice to acknowledge you as a fellow- 
labourer." Meantime, let none exhort in any of our 
Societies, without a note of permission from the Assistant. 
Let every Exhorter take care to have this renewed yearly. 
And let every Assistant insist upon it. 



LARGE MINUTES. 37 

Q. 52. What is the method wherein we usually proceed 
in our Conferences ? 
A. We inquire, 

1. What preachers are admitted ? 
Who remain on trial ? 

Who are admitted on trial ? 
Who desist from travelling? 

2. Are there any ohjections to any of the preachers ? 
Who are named one by one. 

3. How are the preachers stationed this year? 

4. What numbers are in the Society? 

5. What is the Kingswood collection ? 

6. What boys are received this year ? 
7- What girls are assisted ? 

8. What is contributed for the contingent expenses ? 

9. How was this expended ? 

10. What is contributed toward the Fund for super- 
annuated and supernumerary preachers ? 

11. What demands are there upon it ? 

12. How many Preachers' wives are to be provided for? 
By what Societies ? 

13. Wliere, and when, may our next Conference begin? 
Q. 53. How can we account for the decrease of the 

work of God in some circuits, both this year and the 
last ? 

A. It may be owing either, 1. To the want of zeal and 
exactness in the Assistant, occasioning want of discipline 
throughout : or, 2. To want of life and diligence in the 
Preachers: or, 3. To our people's losing the life of God, 
and sinking into the spirit of the world. 

It may be owing farther, to the want of more field 
preaching, and of trying more new places. 

Q. 54. What can be done, in order to revive the work 
of God where it is decayed ? 

A. 1. Let every Preacher read carefully over the life of 
David Brainard. Let us be " followers of him as he was 
of Christ, in absolute self-devotion, in total deadness to 
the world, and in fervent love to God and man. Let us 
but secure this point, and the world and the devil must fall 
under our feet. 

2. Let both Assistants and Preachers be conscientiously 
exact in the whole Methodist discipline. 

3. See that no circuit be at any time without Preachers. 
Therefore, let no Preacher, who does not attend the Con- 
ference, leave the circuit, at that time, on any pretence 
whatever. This is the most improper time in the whole 
year. Let every Assistant see to this, and require each of 
these to remain in the circuit till the new Preachers come^' 



38 LARGE MINUTES. 

Let not all the Preachers in any circuit come to the 
Conference. 

Let those who do come> set out as late, and return as 
soon as possible. 

4. Wherever you can, appoint prayer-meetings, and 
particularly on Friday. 

5. Let a fast be observed in all our societies, the last 
Friday in August, November, February, and May. 

6. Be more active in dispersing the books, particularly 
the sermon on, The Good Steward, on Indwelling Sin, 
the Repentance of Believers, and the Scripture Way of 
Salvation. Every Assistant may give away small tracts. 
And he may beg money of the rich to buy bocks for the 
poor. 

7. Strongly and explicitly exhort all believers to go on 
to perfection. That we may all speak the same thing, I 
ask once for all, shall we defend this perfection, or give it 
up ? You all agree to defend it, meaning thereby (as we 
did from the beginning) salvation from all sin, by the love 
of God and man filling our hearts. The Papists say, "This 
cannot be attained, till we have been refined by the fire of 
purgatory." The Calvinists say, " Nay, it will be attained 
as soon as the soul and body part." The old Methodists 
say, " It may be attained before we die : a moment after is 
too late." Is it so, or not ? You are all agreed, we may 
be saved from all sin before death. The substance then is 
settled. But as to the circumstance, is the change gradual 
or instantaneous ? It is both one and the other. From 
the moment we are justified, there may be a gradual sanc- 
tification, a growing in grace, a daily advance in the know- 
ledge and love of God. And if sin cease before death, there 
must, in the nature of the thing, be an instantaneous 
change. There must be a last moment wherein it does 
exist, and a first moment wherein it does not. "But should 
we in preaching, insist both on one and the other ? " Cer- 
tainly we must insist on the gradual change : and that 
earnestly and continually. And are there not reasons why 
we should insist on the instantaneous also ? If there be 
such a blessed change before death, should we not encourage 
all believers to expect it? And the rather, because constant 
experience shows, the more earnestly they expect this, the 
more swiftly and steadily does the gradual work of God go 
on in their soul : the more watchful they are against all 
sin : the more careful to grow in grace, the more zealous of 
good works, and the more punctual in their attendance on 
all the ordinances of God. (Whereas just the contrary 
effects are observed, whenever this expectation ceases.) 
They are saved by hope, by this hope of a total change, 



LARGE MINUTES. 39 

with a gradually increasing salvation. Destroy this hope, 
and that salvation stands still, or rather decreases daily. 
Therefore, whoever would advance the gradual change in 
believers, should strongly insist on the instantaneous. 

Q. 55. What can be done to increase the work of God 
in Scotland ? 

A. 1. Freach abroad as much as possible. 

2. Try every town and village. 

3. Visit every member in the society at home. 
Q. 56. How many circuits are there now? 

A. Of America we have no late account. There are 
seventy-four circuits in England, Wales, and the Isle of 
Man : seven in Scotland, and twenty-eight in Ireland. 

Q. 57- Are our Preaching-houses safe ? 

A. Not all : for some of them are not settled on Trustees. 
Several of the Trustees for others are dead. 

Q. 58. What then is to be done? 

A. 1. Let those who have debts on any of the houses 
give a bond, to settle them as soon as they are indemnified. 

2. Where Trustees are dead, let the surviving Trustees 
choose others without delay, by endorsing their deed* thus : 

" We, the remaining Trustees of the Methodist Preaching- 
houses in , do, according to the power vested in 

us by this deed, choose to be Trustees of the said 

house, in the place of 



Witness our hands, 



N. B. The deed must have new stamps, and must be 
enrolled in Chancery within six months. 

Q. 59- Is there any exception to the rule, " Let the 
Men and Women sit apart ? " 

A. In those galleries where they have always sat to- 
gether, they may do so still. But let them sit apart every 
where below, and in all new-erected galleries. 

Q. 60. But there is a worse indecency than this creep- 
ing in among us. Talking in the Preaching-houses, before 
and after service. How shall this be cured ? 

A. Let all the preachers join as one man, and the very 
next Sunday they preach in any place, enlarge on the im- 
propriety of talking before or after service, and strongly 
exhort them to do it no more. In three months, if we are 
in earnest, this vile practice will be banished out of every 
Methodist congregation. Let none stop till he has carried 
his point. 

Q. 61. Is there not another shocking indecency fre- 
quently practised by filthy men against the wall of a Preach- 
ing-house ; enough to make any modest woman blush ? 

* The proper forms of Trust Deeds are inserted in the Appendix. 



40 LARGE MINUTES. 

A. There is ; but I beg that any one who sees another 
do this, will reprove him sharply for it. 

Q. 62. It has been complained also, that people crowd 
into the Preachers' houses, as into coffee-houses, without 
any invitation. Is this right ? 

A. It is utterly wrong. Stop it at once. Let no person 
come into the Preacher's house, unless he wants to ask a 
question. 

Q. 63. May any new Preaching-houses be built? 

A. Not unless, 1. They are proposed at the Conference : 
No, nor, 2. Unless two-thirds of the expense be subscribed. 
And if any collection be made for them, it must be made 
between the Conference and the beginning of February. 

Q. 64. What can be done to make the Methodists sensi- 
ble of the excellency of Kingswood-school ? 

A. Let every Assistant read the following account of it 
yearly in every congregation. 

1. The wisdom and love of God have now thrust out a 
large number of labourers into his harvest : men who desire 
nothing on earth but to promote the glory of God, by saving 
their own souls, and those that hear them. And those to 
whom they minister spiritual things, are willing to minister 
to them of their carnal things ; so that they " have food to 
eat, and raiment to put on," and are content therewith. 

2. A competent provision is likewise made for the wives 
of married Preachers. They also lack nothing ; having a 
weekly allowance over and above for their little children : 
so that neither they nor their husbands need to be " careful 
about many things ;" but may " wait upon the Lord with- 
out distraction." 

3. Yet one considerable difficulty lies on those that have 
boys, when they grow too big to be under their mother's 
direction. Having no father to govern and instruct them, 
they are exposed to a thousand temptations. To remedy 
this we have a school on purpose for them, wherein they 
have all the instruction they are capable of, together with 
all things necessary for the body, clothes only excepted. 
And it may be, if God prosper this labour of love, they will 
have these too shortly. 

4. In whatever view we look upon this, it is one of the 
noblest charities that can be conceived. How reasonable 
is the institution ! Is it fit that the children of those who 
leave wife, and all that is dear, to save souls from death, 
should want what is needful either for soul or body ? Ought 
not we to supply what the parent cannot, because of his 
labours in the gospel ? How excellent are the effects of this 
institution ! The Preacher, eased of this weight, can the 
more cheerfully go on in his labour. And perhaps many 



LARGE MINUTES. 41 

of these children may hereafter fill up the place of those 
that shall "rest from their labours." 

5. Is it not strange, therefore, considering the excellence 
of this design, that Satan should have taken much pains to 
defeat it, particularly by lies of every kind, which were 
plentifully invented and handed about for several years. 
But truth now generally prevails, and its adversaries are 
put to silence. It is well known, that the children want 
nothing; that they scarce know what sickness means; that 
they are well instructed in whatever they are capable of 
learning ; that they are carefully and tenderly governed, 
and that the behaviour of all in the house, elder and 
younger, is " as becometh the Gospel of Christ." 

6. But the expense of such an undertaking is very large, 
so that we are ill able to defray it. The best means we 
could think of at our Conference, to supply the deficiency 
is, once a year to desire the assistance of all those in every 
place, who wish well to the work of God ; who long to see 
sinners converted to God, and the kingdom of Christ set 
up in all the earth. 

7. All of you, who are thus minded, have an opportunity 
now of showing your love to the Gospel. Now promote, as 
far as in you lies, one of the noblest charities in the world. 
Now forward, as you are able, one of the most excellent 
designs that ever was set on foot in this kingdom. Do 
what you can to comfort the parents who give up their all 
for you, and to give their children cause to bless you. You 
will be no poorer for what you do on such an occasion. 
God is a good paymaster. And you know, in doing this, 
you " lend unto the Lord : in due time he shall pay you 
again." 

Q. 65. But how can we keep out of debt ? 

A. Let the collection be made for this school the Sunday 
before or after Midsummer, in every Preaching-house, great 
and small, throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland. 

Q. 66. How may we raise a general fund for carrying 
on the whole work of God ? 

A. By a yearly subscription to be proposed by every 
Assistant, when he visit the Classes at Christmas, and re- 
ceived at the visitation following. 

To this end he may then read and enlarge upon the fol- 
lowing hints in every society : — 

1. How shall we send labourers into those parts, where 
they are most of all wanted ? Suppose the north-west of 
Ireland, and the north of Scotland ? Many are willing to 
hear ; but not to bear the expense. Nor can it as yet be 
expected of them : stay till the word of God has touched 
their hearts, and then they will gladly provide for them 



42 LARGE MINUTES, 

that preach it. Does it not lie upon us, in the mean time, 
to supply their lack of service ? To raise a general fund, 
out of which, from time to time, that expense may be de- 
frayed ? By this means, those who willingly offer them- 
selves, may travel through every part, and stay wherever 
there is a call, without being burdensome to any. Thus 
may the Gospel, in the life and power thereof, be spread 
from sea to sea. Which of you will not rejoice to throw 
in your mite to promote this glorious work ? 

2. Besides this, in carrying on so large a work through 
the three kingdoms, there are calls for money in various 
ways, and we must frequently be at considerable expense, 
or the work must be at a full stop. Many too are the occa- 
sional distresses of our Preachers or their families, which 
require an immediate supply. Otherwise their hands would 
hang down, if they were not constrained to depart from the 
work. 

3. Let then every member of our society once a year, set 
his shoulder to the work ; contributing more or less as 
God hath prospered him, at the Lady-day visitation of the 
Classes. Let none be excluded from giving something, 
be it a penny, a halfpenny, a farthing. Remember the 
widow's two mites ! and let those who are able to give 
shillings, crowns, and pounds, do it willingly. The money 
contributed will be brought to the ensuing Conference. 

4. Men and brethren, help ! Was there ever a call like 
this, since you first heard the Gospel sound ? Help to re- 
lieve your companions in the kingdom of Jesus, who are 
pressed above measure. "Bear ye one another's burdens, 
and so fulfil the law of Christ." Help to send forth able, 
willing labourers into your Lord's harvest : so shall ye be 
assistant in saving souls from death and hiding a multitude 
of sins. Help to spread the Gospel of your salvation into 
the remotest corners of the kingdom, till " the knowledge 
of our Lord shall cover the land, as the waters cover the 
sea." " So shall it appear to ourselves and all men, that 
we are indeed one body, united by one spirit ;" so shall the 
baptized heathens be yet again constrained to say, " See 
how these Christians love one another ! " In this, may not 
even the Romanists provoke us to jealousy ? They have a 
general fund at Rome, and another at Paris, which bears 
all the expenses of their Missionaries throughout all the 
world. 

Q. 67. What is the direct antidote to Methodism (the 
doctrine of heart-holiness) ? 

A. Galvanism. All the devices of Satan for these fifty 
years, have done far less towards stopping this work of 
God, than that single doctrine. It strikes at the root of 



LARGE MINUTES. 43 

salvation from sin, previous to glory, putting the matter on 
quite another issue. 

Q. 68. But wherein lie the charms of this doctrine? 
What makes men swallow it so greedily ? 

A. 1. It seems to magnify Christ: although in reality 
it supposes him to have died in vain. For the absolutely 
elect must have been saved without him : and the non-elect 
cannot be saved by him. 

2. It is highly pleasing to flesh and blood, final perse- 
verence in particular. 

Q. 69. What can be done to guard against it ? 

A. 1. Let all our Preachers carefully read over our's 
and Mr. Fletcher's Tracts. 

2. Let them frequently and explicitly preach the truth, 
though not in a controversial way. But let them take care 
to do it in love and gentleness : not in bitterness, not re- 
turning railing for railing ; let those who preach it have all 
this to themselves. 

3. Do not imitate them in screaming, allegorizing, boast- 
ing : rather mildly expose these things when time serves. 

4. Imitate them in this. They readily seize upon any 
one that is newly convinced or converted. Be diligent to 
prevent them, and to guard those tender minds against the 
Predestinarian poison. 

5. Answer all their objections, as occasion offers, both in 
public and private. But take care to do this, with ail pos- 
sible sweetness, both of look and of accent. i 

6. Very frequently, both in public and private, advise 
our people not to hear them. 

7 ■ Make it matter of constant and earnest prayer, that 
God would stop the plague. 

Q. 70. We said in 1/44, " We have leaned too much 
towards Galvanism ? " Wherein ? 

A. 1. With regard to man's faithfulness. Our Lord 
himself taught us to use the expression, therefore we ought 
never to be ashamed of it. We ought steadily to assert 
upon his authority, that if a man is not "faithful in the 
unrighteous mammon, God will not give him the true 
riches." 

2. With regard to working for life, which our Lord ex- 
pressly commands us to do. " Labour (ioydfco&e) literally, 
work for the meat that endureth to everlasting life." And, 
in fact, every believer, till he comes to glory, works for, as 
well as from life. 

3. We have received it as a maxim, that "a man is to 
do nothing, 'in order to justification.' " Nothing can be 
more false. Whoever desires to find favour with God, 
should " cease from evil, and learn to do well." So God 



44 LARGE MINUTES. 

himself teaches by the Prophet Isaiah. Whoever repents, 
should " do works meet for repentance." And if this is not 
in order to find favour, what does he do them for ? 
Once more review the whole affair : 

1. Who of us is now accepted of God? 

He that now believes in Christ, with a loving obedient 
heart. 

2. But who among those that never heard of Christ ? 
He that according to the light he has " feareth God and 

worketh righteousness." 

3. Is this the same with he that is sincere ? 
Nearly, if not quite. 

4. Is not this salvation by works ? 

Not by the merits of works, but by works as a condition. 

5. What have we then been disputing about for these 
thirty years ? 

I am afraid, about words (namely, in some of the fore- 
going instances.) 

6. As to merit itself, of which we have been so dreadfully 
afraid : we are rewarded " according to our works, yea, 
because of our works." How does this differ from, " for 
the sake of our works? And how differs this from secundum 
merita operum ? Which is no more than, " as our works 
deserve ?" Can you split this hair ? I doubt, I cannot. 

7. The grand objection to one of the preceding propo- 
sitions, is drawn from matter of fact. God does in fact 
justify those who, by their own confession, neither feared 
God, nor wrought righteousness. Is this an exception to 
the general rule ? 

"It is a doubt, whether God makes any exception at all. 
But how are we sure that the person in question never did 
fear God and work righteousness ? His own thinking so is 
no proof. For we know, how all that are convinced of sin, 
undervalue themselves in every respect. 

8. Does not talking, without proper caution, of a justified 
or sanctified state, tend to mislead men ? Almost naturally 
leading them to trust in what was done in one moment? 
Whereas we are every moment pleasing or displeasing God, 
according to our works ? According to the whole of our 
present inward tempers, and outward behaviour. 



45 

I. THE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY. 

1. Q. What Regulations shall be made concerning the 
office of the President of the Conference ? 

A. 1. The same President is not to be re-chosen above 
once in eight years. 

2. The President's power shall cease, as soon as the Con- 
ference breaks up. 1792. 

[Afterwards qualified, as in Nos. IV. VI. IX.] 

II. Q. What direction shall be given concerning the 
election of a President ? 

A. No person shall vote for the President by proxy. 
1793. 

[All the Preachers who have travelled fourteen years, are 
now at liberty to nominate by ballot the President and 
Secretary ; which nomination, however, is submitted to the 
Members of the Legal Conference for their sanction.] 

III. The President of the Conference shall have power, 
when applied to, to supply a Circuit with Preachers, if any 
should die, or desist from travelling ; and to sanction any 
change of Preachers which it may be necessary to make in 
the intervals of the Conference. And to assist at any 
District-Meeting, if applied to for that purpose, by the 
Chairman of the District, or by a majority of the Super- 
intendents in such District. And he shall have a right, if 
written to by any who are concerned, to visit any Circuit, 
and to inquire into their affairs with respect to Methodism, 
and, in union with the District-Committee, redress any 
grievance. 1797- 

IV. The Reserve List is left in the hands of the Presi- 
dent ; who is fully authorised, after due inquiries, to call 
out any of the Preachers who are upon that list, in order 
to fill up in the Circuits or Missions any vacancies which 
may be caused by death, by desisting from travelling, or 
by the rejection of any of the Preachers now taken pro- 
visionally on trial, by their Quarterly Meetings, or by ex- 
amining Superintendents, &c. : provided that the Preachers, 
so called out by the President,* receive the approbation of 
their Quarterly Meetings, and are previously heard, ex- 
amined, and approved by three Preachers who have tra- 
velled at least ten years. 1808. 

V. After the present year, this Conference will not ap- 
point the same Preacher to preside in the Irish Conference 
for two years successively. 1811. 

VI. The President of the Conference shall always be, 

* See Rules concerning Superintendents of Circuit^, Nos. XVIII. 
XXIX. 



46 THE CONFERENCE. 

ex-officio, Chairman of the District, in which he is sta- 
tioned, during the year of his Presidency. 1812. 

VII. It is agreed, That, after the Preachers, who have 
completed the period of their probation, shall have passed 
through the usual private and public examination, they 
shall be received into full connexion by the President of the 
Conference for the time being, as has been customary. And 
the President of the preceding Conference shall then ad- 
dress to them, in the presence of the congregation, an ap- 
propriate Charge. This method shall be continued annu- 
ally. 1813. 

VIII. Q. How may we provide against the difficulties 
and inconveniences resulting from the death of any Pre- 
sident of the Conference, who may die during the year of 
his Presidency ? 

A. In every such case, the last surviving President shall 
immediately enter again into the office so vacated ; and shall 
be considered, for the remainder of that year, and until the 
election of a successor at the ensuing Conference, as having 
all the powers, privileges, and authorities of the Presidency, 
and responsible for all its duties. 1816. 

IX. The President for the time being shall, in future, 
be expected to use the authority vested in him by Rule, 
by previously appointing, in conjunction with the Superin- 
tendent of the place where the next Conference is to be 
held, the Preachers who are to officiate in the principal 
Chapels during the time of the Conference. 1821. 

X. It is particularly requested, that all letters written 
to the President or Secretary, or other Preachers, whether 
during the sittings of Conference, or in the course of the 
year, on public business of any kind, may be sent Post- 
paid. 1824. 

XI. In consequence of the great accumulation of public 
business which now devolves upon our President, during 
the year of his presidency, it is agreed, that a junior 
Preacher shall, from year to year, be stationed with the 
President for the time being, to assist him in his official 
correspondence, &c, and to supply his place in his Circuit, 
during his official journeys, or other unavoidable public 
engagements. 1825. 



II. RULES CONCERNING THE CONFERENCE. 

I. Q. Is it necessary to enter into any engagements in 
respect to our future plan of economy ? 

A. We engage to follow strictly the plan which Mr. Wes- 
ley left us at his death. 1791. 



THE CONFERENCE. 47 

II. Q. Whereas we have been disappointed by married 
Preachers coming out to travel in expectation of being them- 
selves able to maintain their Wives independently of the 
Connexion, who very soon became entirely dependent ; how 
shall this be prevented in future ? 

A. 1. Let no Preacher be received on this plan, unless 
he can bring in writing such an account of his income, 
signed by the Assistant [Superintendent], as shall satisfy 
the Conference. 

2. If any person shall propose to keep a Preacher's wife 
or children, he shall give a bond to the Conference for the 
sum he is to allow. 1791 ■ 

III. Q. What Rules, shall be made concerning Ordina- 
tions ? 

A. 1. No Ordination shall take place in the Methodist. 
Connexion, without the consent of the Conference first ob- 
tained. 

2. If any brother shall break the above-mentioned Rule, 
by ordaining or being ordained, without the consent of the 
Conference previously obtained, the brother so breaking the 
Rule does thereby exclude himself. 1792. 

IV. Q. Expressions have been used by some, through a 
false zeal for their own peculiar sentiments, which were very 
unjustifiable. How shall we prevent this in future ? 

A. No person is to call another heretic, bigot, or by any 
other disrespectful name, on any account, for a difference 
in sentiment. 1792. 

V. Q. Some Preachers have paid visits to their friends 
and relations at unsuitable times, to the injury of the work 
of God in their Circuits. How shall this be prevented in 
future ? 

A. No Preacher is to leave his Circuit, in order to visit 
his friends or relations, between the Midsummer and 
Michaelmas quarter-days. 1792. 

VI. Q. What direction shall be given concerning Super- 
annuated Preachers ? 

A. Every Preacher shall be considered as a Supernume- 
rary for four years after he has desisted from travelling, and 
shall afterwards be deemed superannuated. 1793. 

VII. Q. What directions shall be given concerning the 
use of Tobacco ? 

A. 1. No Preacher shall use Tobacco for smoking, for 
chewing, or in snuff, unless it be prescribed by a physician. 

2. Our people are requested not to introduce pipes and 
Tobacco into their houses for Preachers, except in extreme 
cases. 1795. 

VIII. Concerning Delegates, the Conference having ma- 
turely considered the subject, are thoroughly persuaded, 



48 THE CONFERENCE. 

with many of our Societies, whose letters have been read in 
full Conference, that they cannot admit any but regular 
Travelling Preachers into their Body,* either in the Con- 
ference or District Meetings, and preserve the system of 
Methodism entire, particularly the Itinerant plan, which 
they are determined to support. But let it be well observed 
that, in explaining their Minutes, it was fully and explicitly 
understood, that, if there be any accusation against a 
Preacher, or any difficult affair to settle, not only the 
Circuit, or Town Steward, but any Leader, or even Member 
of the Society, shall be admitted as evidence, to the District 
Meeting; provided the matter has been first heard at a 
Quarterly Meeting. 1797. 

IX. Q. What directions shall be given concerning the 
administration of the Lord's Supper ? 

A. A Superintendent, or some other Travelling Preacher 
in full connexion, who is willing to administer the Lord's 
Supper, shall be appointed for every Circuit, where the 
Lord's Supper is regularly administered ; who shall admi- 
nister that holy Ordinance in all such places in his Cir- 
cuit, as are allowed that privilege according to the Rules 
of Pacification. 1799- 

X. A General Ledger shall be kept, into which all the 
accounts shall be entered ; and all the books be kept in 
London, with the Journals, during the intervals of the 
Conference. 1799- 

XL Q. How may we guard our religious privileges ?f 

* This resolution was intended to prevent Lay Delegation, or the ad- 
mission of any but Travelling Preachers into their Body — i. e.. as regu- 
larly incorporated either in the Conference, or the District Meetings. 
This sufficiently discovers what was the mind of the Connexion at that 
time. 

1- There is one privilege claimed by the travelling and local preachers, 
which they have both asserted and vindicated without the interference 
of the Committee of Privileges : namely, the privilege of exemption from 
the payment of toll in attending their appointments on the Sabbath-day. 
The following is that part of the clause in the General Turnpike Act 
(3 George IV., c. 12, s. 32) under which the claim is made :— " And be 
it further enacted, that no toll shall be demanded or taken by virtue of 
this or any oiher Act or Acts of Parliament, on any Turnpike-road, kc, 
or from any pei son or persons going to or returning from his, her, or 
their proper parochial church or chapel, or of or from any other person 
or persons going to or returning from his, her, or their usual place of 
religious worship, tolerated by law, on Sundays, or on any day on which 
Divine service is by authority ordered to be celebrated," &c. *rc Some- 
times, the claim has been disputed ; but the magistrates have, I believe 
always, decided in favour of it. Though several high legal opinions 
have been given in support of the exemption pleaded, it is doubtful whe- 
ther the words of the Act will bear the construction put upon them. 
Such an alteration of the clause as would set the question entirely at rest, is 
desirable x 



THE CONFERENCE. 49 

A. A Committee of ten persons shall be formed to at- 
tend on this important business. 

N.B. The Committee for the purpose above-mentioned, 
are to be annually elected by the Conference. 1803. 

XII. Q. What direction shall be given in respect to law- 
suits ?* 

* The prudential direction which follows appears to have been suggested 
by the failure of a law-suit commenced by the preachers against the trustees 
of the City-road chapel, shortly after Mr. Wesley's death. When the 
suit had cost the Conference £1 ,200, the difference was amicably arranged ! 
Before the agreement took place, the Lord Chancellor determined the four 
following particulars: — 1. That the majority of the Trustees bound the 
miuority in all things, agreeable to the letter of the Trust-deed. 2. That 
the Trustees had a right to choose Stewards for themselves, in order to 
manage the concerns of the Trust. 3. That whatever money was sub- 
scribed by individuals, and laid out on the Trust-premises, was to be dis- 
posed of by the Trustees according to their Trust-deed. 4 That no 
Trustees could remove a preacher from the pulpit, without proving him 
immoral in his life, or erroneous in his doctrine. In the course of this 
law-suit, Avhen it was in the Exchequer in Equity, the counsel for the 
Trustees urged the Court to appoint a receiver of the revenues of the 
Trust-premises. The Lord Chief Baron said, " The Trustees are in 
possession, and the Charity goes on." Viewing the chapels vested in the 
hands of Trustees in the light of a charity, has produced two good con- 
sequences. 1. That it is no sin to make collections for them on the 
Lord's-day. 2. That if any Trustees were to embezzle the revenues of 
the chapels, and refuse to show their accounts, they can be made to show 
them, by an appeal to the Court of Chancery. At the Conference in 
the year 1796, when the foregoing dispute was settled, it was asked — 
" Q. How shall we avoid the being entangled in law? A. Let no 
District-meetings, no preacher, or number of preachers, or people what- 
soever, on any consideration, involve the Conference in a law-suit, nor 
have any demand on the Conference for the expenses, or any part of 
the expenses, of a law-suit ; more especially concerning chapels or preach- 
ing-houses, without the consent of the Conference previously obtained." 

A t the Conference of 1806, it was asked, " Q. What steps shall be taken 
to recover our chapel at Brighouse, in the Halifax Circuit, which has been 
illegally wrested out of our hands ? A. The Committee of Privileges in 
London are ordered to commence a suit at law for the recovery of this 
chapel." It appears that when Mr. Kilham and his party separated from 
the Connexion, they took possession of several of the chapels, though they 
were settled upon the Conference, plan. It was therefore determined to 
make an appeal to the Court of Chancery, selecting the case of Brighouse 
chapel, near Halifax, principally with a view to try the general question. 
It was decreed by the fore-mentioned Court on the 5th of March, 1810, 
" Attorney-General v. Pratt," " That, as what was now called in the plead- 
ings, for the sake of distinction, the Old Conference, was the only Confer- 
ence which existed at the time of the execution of the Trust-deed, and for 
many years afterwards, it must be determined to be that Conference only 
which was referred to in the deed. And, as the Trustees had not reserved, 
by any clause in the deed, power of making new regulations, by any deci- 
sion of a majority of themselves, they must be compelled to execute the 
Trust, according to the laws and regulations of that Conference, for the 
use of which they held the Trust-estate, and admit those preachers only 
who were sent by the Old Conference." 
D 



50 THE CONFERENCE. 

A. The Committee mentioned in the preceding Minute, 
shall be consulted previously to the commencement of any 
law-suit on account of the whole or any part of the Con- 
nexion. And if any law-suit be commenced, in future, 
before the above Committee be consulted, and their appro- 
bation be obtained, the Conference and Connexion at 
large, shall not be responsible for any expenses incurred 
by such law-suit. 1803. 

XIII. Q. Do we agree to confirm our former Rules, pro- 
hibiting the Travelling Preachers from engaging in secular 
concerns ?* 

A. Certainly ; and we determine, that, if any Travelling 
Preacher or Missionary be employed in, or carry on, any 
trade, he shall, on proof thereof, be excluded from the 
Itinerant Plan ; as we judge that such a pursuit of private 
emolument is incompatible with our ministerial duties. 
1804. 

XIV. Q. Are not some of the younger Preachers in 
danger of departing from our leading doctrines ? 

A. We fear they are ; and resolve that, in future, before 
any Preacher be admitted into full connexion, he shall be 
required to give a full and explicit declaration of his faith 
as to those doctrines, in the presence of the Conference. 
1805. 

XV. Q. Can any plan be adopted, preferable to that 
which we have generally pursued, in order to expedite 
business in our Conferences ? 

A. As soon as the Deed of Declaration is filled up, and 
the President and Secretary are chosen, let the Clerks be 
immediately appointed, and such standing Committees as 
are in general found to be necessary. 1805. 

XVI. Q. As a positive law of our body enjoins, that no 
Travelling Preacher is to marry during Ms probation, when 
is that probation to be considered as terminated ? 

A. When he is received into full connexion, either for- 
mally at the Conference, or virtually by being so entered 
on our Minutes. 1806. 

XVII. Q. How may the union of the Brethren, who la- 
bour together in the same Circuit, be more effectually pro- 
moted ? 

A. 1. The Conference insists, that no Helper shall coun- 
tenance or encourage any person who opposes the Superin- 
tendent in the proper discharge of his official duties accord- 
ing to our Rules. 

* At the Conference of 1792, when it was found necessary to reprint 
the Minutes which forbid the Preachers to follow trades, or be engaged 
in business, it was added, " N.B. Selling our own books is an exception." 



THE CONFERENCE. 51 

2. We advise the Brethren to meet together once a week, 
or as often as it is practicable, in order to converse freely 
with each other, respecting the affairs of their Circuit. 1806. 

XVIII. Q. Can any thing more be done in order to ex- 
pedite and regulate the business of our Conferences ? 

A. 1. Let us enforce our existing Rules, which enact, 
that no charge brought by one Preacher against another in 
the same District, shall be heard in the Conference, unless 
previously examined in the District Meeting, if the matter 
alleged in such charge were then in existence ; and that all 
charges shall be previously announced, personally or in 
writing, to the Brother against whom they are directed. 

2. It is agreed, that no person shall be allowed to speak 
more than once on the same subject of debate, except in 
explanation. 180/. 

XIX. Q. If any Preachers, who have been received upon 
trial, but not into full connexion, desist from travelling, 
what method shall be pursued concerning them ? 

A. They shall be dropped in perfect silence, unless they 
desist for want of health. 1807. 

XX. Q. What is the opinion of the Conference con- 
cerning the marriage of daughters without the consent of 
parents ? 

A. We agree to confirm and re-publish the Minute for- 
merly printed on this subject by Mr. Wesley ; and resolve, 
that if any Preacher violate this Rule in future, he shall, 
on proof of such violation, be excluded from the Connexion. 
The Minute referred to is as follows : — " Q, Ought any 
woman to marry without the consent of her parents ? A. 
In general she ought not. Yet there may be an exception. 
For if, 1. a woman be under the necessity of marrying: 
if, 2. her parents absolutely refuse to let her marry any 
Christian ; then she may, nay, ought to marry without their 
consent. Yet even then, a Methodist Preacher ought not 
to marry her." 1809- 

XXI. Q. What is the judgment of the Conference con- 
cerning the practice of admitting Preachers into full con- 
nexion, formally and publicly, at the District Meetings? 

A. On mature consideration, the Rule which permitted 
that practice is now repealed ; and the solemn designation 
of our young Preachers to the work of the Christian Mi- 
nistry among us, by their formal admission into full con- 
nexion, shall take place only at our Annual Conferences. 
1810. 

XXII. Q. How are we to interpret our existing Rules 
concerning Preachers who are called into our Circuits 
during the intervals of our Conferences ? 

A. If they be previously entered on the List of Reserve, 



52 THE CONFERENCE. 

and be called out before the Christmas following, they shall 
be considered at the ensuing Conference as having travelled 
one year. If they be not on the List of Reserve, their 
Itinerancy is to be considered as commencing at the en- 
suing Conference ; and they are to travel four years from 
that time before they are received into full connexion. 1812. 

XXIII. No motion shall be discussed, at any future Con- 
ference, proposing a new Rule that would affect our con- 
nexion in general, unless notice be given of such motion at 
least on the day before it is brought forward. 1815. 

XXIV. In future, no new proposal which is designed to 
effect a general augmentation of the income of the Preach- 
ers, in the connexion at large, shall be definitely adopted 
as a Rule, until it shall have received the assent of a ma- 
jority of the District-Meetings throughout the kingdom, 
at the time when the financial affairs of the Districts are 
transacted ; during which time, according to an existing 
Rule, the Circuit Stewards of every Circuit in each District 
are to be invited to attend the District-Meeting, and shall 
have a right to vote on every such proposal respecting any 
general increase of allowances. 1815. 

XXV. Q. What is the judgment of the Conference re- 
specting that part of our work, which has been usually 
termed The Home-Missions ? 

A. 1. The terms, Home-Missions and Home Missionaries, 
shall be disused. 

2. All the Stations in England, which have been called 
Home-Missions, shall from this time be considered, either 
as distinct and regular Circuits, or as appended to the re- 
gular Circuits to which they are contiguous. 

3. The Preachers employed in such Stations, and hereto- 
fore considered as Home-Missionaries, shall be henceforth 
considered as additional Preachers, subject to the authority 
of the District-Meetings, and to every part of our disci- 
pline, like all other Preachers. 

4. Those expenses, connected with the employment of 
such Preachers, which cannot be raised among the people 
for whom they labour, or in the Circuits to which they are 
attached, shall be first examined and approved by the 
Quarterly Meetings, and then allowed by the District- 
Meetings, to be paid out of the yearly Collection, according 
to the same Rules which direct the payment of all other 
ordinary and extraordinary deficiencies in the circuits. 

5. In order to provide for the expenses which may be 
incurred by the employment of additional Preachers, for 
the purpose of carrying the Gospel and its Ordinances into 
those parts of our own country which are in a great degree 
destitute of the ordinary means of religious instruction, — 



THE CONFERENCE. 53 

as well as to prevent, if possible, the necessity of future 
extraordinary Collections, by making the yearly income of 
the Contingent Fund more equal to the average amount of 
the demands upon it,— an Annual Public Collection, for 
the support and spread of the Gospel at home, shall be 
made in all our congregations throughout the kingdom, in 
the early part of the month of July : which shall be brought 
to the ensuing Conference, and applied in aid of the old- 
established yearly collection, which is made privately in 
the Classes. 

6. An address to our congregations, on the design and 
necessity of this Collection, shall be prepared ; copies of 
which shall be sent to every Circuit, for the guidance of 
the Preachers who may be employed in making it. 1815. 

XXVI. It is recommended, both for the saving of ex- 
pense, and with a view to the health of our Preachers, and 
to the greater spiritual profit of our people in the Country 
Societies of the several Circuits, that the Single Preachers 
shall in general lodge at those places in the Country where 
they have preached in the evenings : so that the allowances 
for their board in the head Town, or other principal place 
of each Circuit, may not be unnecessarily increased by 
their too frequent return. 1818. 

XXVII. Q. Can we adopt any further measure to pro- 
mote the spiritual benefit of the Societies under our care ? 

A. We deem it expedient and proper to address the 
Societies annually in a Pastoral Letter from the Conference. 
This practice shall be commenced at the present Confer- 
ence ; and the address now prepared and approved shall 
be immediately printed, that it may be sent to the Circuits, 
and be read forthwith in all our Congregations, and shall 
be afterwards published in our Minutes, and in the Metho- 
dist Magazine. 1819- 

XXVIII. Q. Can we further improve the method of trans- 
acting our business at the annual Conferences ? 

A. \. Let the next Conference begin its sittings on the 
last Wednesday, and not on the last Monday in July • in order 
that not only the Missionary Committee and the Chapel 
Fund Committee, but also the Committees for Book- Affairs, 
for the examination of the concerns of our Schools, for the 
investigation of the Extraordinaries, and other Financial 
Business, and for Stationing the Children, may all have 
time to meet, before the Conference shall assemble, and pre- 
pare the Reports of the business of their several Depart- 
ments. 

2. Let the Committee of Eleven begin their work in the 
Evening of the first day of the Conference, and continue 
their Meetings every evening, until their Report shall be 
ready. 



54 THE CONFERENCE. 

3. In consequence of this alteration, it is expected that 
the great Body of the Preachers, who attend the Confer- 
ence, may remain in their Circuits on the Sunday before 
the commencement of its sittings, and that they will not 
be under the necessity of being absent for more than two 
Sabbaths. 1819- 

XXIX. The Conference unanimously agree to the fol- 
lowing Resolutions : — 

1 . That the Conference embrace with pleasure this op- 
portunity* of .recognising that great principle, which it is 
hoped will be permanently maintained, — That the Wesleyan 
Methodists are one Body in every part of the world. 

2. That the British Conference have frequently rejoiced 
in the very favourable accounts which have been received, 
year after year, of the great and glorious work which God 
is graciously carrying on in the United States of America ; 
but that it is with peculiar pleasure that they receive a Re- 
presentative from the General Conference in America. — The 
statement given by our beloved Brother, Mr. Emory, of .the 
present state of Methodism in America, has been received 
with much joy : and the Conference hereby expresses its 
high satisfaction, not only in the declaration, but in the 
proof, of the love of our American Brethren, m fully open- 
ing the way for a brotherly intercourse between the Euro- 
pean and the American Societies. 

3. That the Conference particularly rejoices in the zeal 
which is manifested by our American Brethren, in carrying 
the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Indian tribes, 
and in the success which God has already given to their 
labours in that natural and moral wilderness : and hopes, 
that the time is drawing near, when the aborigines of that 
vast Continent shall become the mild and gentle followers 
of our gracious Redeemer. 

4. That it is the earnest wish of this Conference, that 
the kind and friendly intercourse which is now opened be- 
tween the British and American Conferences should be con- 
tinued ; and that prior to the time of the next General Con- 
ference in America, the British Conference will appoint one 
or more of their Body to visit our Brethren in America, and 
to be present at their General Conference. 

5. That a letter shall be sent to the American Brethren, 
containing these Resolutions, and strongly expressing our 
high approbation of the selection of our highly-esteemed 
brother, Mr. Emory, as their Representative to our Confer- 

* The opportunity was afforded by the presence of the Her. John Emory 
(now Doctor of Divinity), the accredited Representative of the General 
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of 
America. 



THE CONFERENCE. 55 

ence, and our earnest desire and prayer, that, in the spirit 
of Christian love, we may ever be one in Christ Jesus. 

6. That there shall be a regular exchange of Minutes, 
Magazines, Missionary Reports and Notices, and of all new 
original Works, published by the European and American 
Methodists, from their respective Book-Rooms. 1820. 

XXX. Q. What can be done to promote amongst our- 
selves and the People of our charge more general and ear- 
nest Prayer for the abundant Out-pouring of the Holy 
Spirit on the Church of Christ and on the World ? 

A. 1. We continue to be deeply convinced of the absolute 
necessity of such an effusion of the Spirit on Christian Mi- 
nisters and People, and on the World at large, in order to 
give an increased efficiency to the preaching of the Gospel, 
and to the various other plans of public usefulness which 
are now in progress, both at home and abroad ; and parti- 
cularly feel the importance of a more copious effusion of 
Divine influences, in reference to ourselves, and to the So- 
cieties and Congregations under our pastoral care. 

2. We again solemnly agree to bring this subject, humbly 
and perseveringly, before the Lord in our private supplica- 
tions, and in our family devotions ; and to remember it 
distinctly and constantly, when we are called to conduct 
the public worship of Almighty God. 

3. We will, by conversation with our friends, and in the 
meetings of our Leaders and Local Preachers, as well as by 
frequent mention of the subject in our sermons, endeavour 
to promote special prayer for the Holy Spirit among our 
people ; and on the Sundays preceding our usual quarterly 
days of fasting and prayer, we will distinctly call their at- 
tention to that great duty, by sermons on such parts of 
Scripture as directly relate to those copious out-pourings of 
grace, which are the chief hope of the world, and by which, 
according to Holy Writ, the latter days are to be peculiarly 
distinguished. 1822. 

XXXI. The Committees preparatory to the Conference 
are as follows : — 

1. The Stationing Committee, on the last Wednesday but 
one in July, at six o'clock in the morning. 

2. The Committee of the Auxiliary Fund, on the following 
Friday afternoon. 

3. The Book Committee, on Saturday morning. 

4. The General School Committee, on Saturday afternoon. 

5. The Chapel-Fund Committee, on the Monday morning 
preceding the Conference. 

6. The Financial Committee., for the examination of the 
Extraordinary Deficiencies, and for the business of the 



56 THE CONFERENCE. 

Children's Fund, on the Tuesday morning preceding the 
Conference. 

The Special Missionary Committee, on the Tuesday after- 
noon preceding the Conference. 

N. B. 1. The Treasurers and Secretaries of the several 
Funds are to meet on the last Wednesday but one in July, 
for the purpose of auditing and preparing the accounts of 
their respective departments. 

2. The Sub-Secretaries are directed to attend at the same 
time, for the purpose of compiling, from the District Mi- 
nutes, various lists, &c, which will facilitate the business of 
the Committees, and of the subsequent Conference. 

3. The Representatives of Districts are required to bring 
or send, in time for the Meeting of the Treasurers and Secre- 
taries of our Funds, on the last Wednesday but one, perfect 
copies of the District Minutes, and an account of the num- 
bers in Society in the several Circuits of their Districts, 
as taken at the Midsummer visitation of the Classes. 
1827. 

XXXII. Q. What can be further done to promote the 
spiritual prosperity of the people of our charge ? 

A. 1. We are deeply convinced of the indispensable ne- 
cessity of renewed and increased diligence in pastoral visi- 
tations ; and we do solemnly and unanimously resolve to 
pay a strict and persevering attention to that department 
of our ministerial service, by frequently setting apart 
certain portions of our time for that purpose ; visiting the 
members of our Societies, wherever it is practicable, " from 
house to house ;" and striving to render those visits as con- 
ducive as possible to the edification and consolation of our 
people, inquiring into their religious experience, giving 
them suitable advices and exhortations, and affectionately 
enforcing upon them a strict observance of all the duties 
of personal, domestic, and social piety. 1830. 

XXXIII. That the proceedings of the Committee ap- 
pointed to inquire into the eligibility of a plan for the 
Settlement of Methodist Chapels be confirmed ; that the 
Model Deed prepared under their direction, and now laid 
before the Conference, be approved ; that the above sum- 
mary* of the Proceedings of the Committee, with the Model 
Deed, and the precedent of a conveyance referring to it, be 
immediately printed, and a copy sent to each Circuit, to 
be preserved with the Public Documents for the use of 
the Circuit ; that the general adoption of the plan be 
strongly recommended to the Connexion at large ; and 

* The Summary here referred to, together with an abstract of the 
Model Deed, will be found in the Appendix. 



THE CONFERENCE. 57 

that this Resolution be entered upon the Journal of the 
Conference, and published with the Summary of the Pro- 
ceedings of the Committee. 1832. 

XXXIV. Q. What are the decisions of the Conference 
upon the proposed union with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church of Canada ? 

A. The English Conference, concurring in the commu- 
nication of the Canadian Conference, and deprecating the 
evils which might arise from the collision of their respec- 
tive agents in the same field of labour ; persuaded also that 
the cause of religion generally, and the interests of Me- 
thodism in particular, would be promoted by the united 
exertions of the two Connexions ; and considering that 
both cordially agree in holding the doctrines contained in 
Mr. Wesley's Notes on the New Testament, and in his 
four volumes of Sermons, have adopted the following Re- 
solutions ; viz. — 

That such a union between the British and Canadian 
Connexions as shall preserve inviolate the rights and pri- 
vileges of the Canadian Preachers and societies, on the 
one hand, and secure the funds of the British Conference, 
on the other, against any claims on the part of the Cana- 
dian Preachers, is highly important and desirable. 1833. 

XXXV. Q. What is the decision of the Conference on 
the Report of the Committee appointed to arrange a plan 
for the improvement of the Junior Preachers ? 

A. 1. The Conference approves of the Principles and 
General Outline of the Plan which that Committee has 
recommended to its adoption; and which, as revised and 
altered by the Committee at sittings subsequent to its 
Meeting in October last, embodies the following Resolu- 
tions : — 

(1.) That it is expedient that an Institution should be 
speedily formed for promoting the more effectual improve- 
ment of the Junior Preachers in the Methodist Con- 
nexion. 

(2.) That this Institution shall be denominated " The 
Wesleyan Theological Institution for the Improvement of 
the Junior Preachers." 

(3.) That all Preachers who shall have passed through 
the various examinations required by our existing Rules, 
and obtained the consent of their respective Quarterly 
Meetings, and the recommendation of the Superintendents 
and District-Meetings, and shall have been placed by the 
Conference on the President's List of Reserve, and none 
else, shall be eligible for admission into this Institution as 
Resident Students, and shall be allowed to remain in it 
for two or three years, as may be found most consistent 
D 2 



58 THE CONFERENCE. 

with the claims of the Connexion for the immediate supply 
of the Circuits and Missions, and with the capacity and 
attainments of the Students themselves. 

N.-B. 1st. In those cases in which a third } r ear's resi- 
dence is allowed, that third year shall be reckoned to the 
Student as the first of the four years of probation now re- 
quired by our rule. 

2nd. As it has been intimated to the Committee that the 
Trustees of an Irish gentleman, who lately bequeathed a 
legacy of one thousand pounds, to promote the improve- 
ment of our junior Preachers in Ireland, are willing to pay 
over that legacy in aid of this Institution, it is recom- 
mended that, in consideration of this payment, of other 
contributions expected from Ireland, and of the special 
claims of that country, the Irish Connexion shall always 
be allowed to have four Resident Students in the Institu- 
tion, and an additional number, if deemed expedient, on 
the payment of a reasonable sum. 

(4.) That, as soon as practicable, after the Conference 
of each year, all the young Preachers placed on the Pre- 
sident's List of Reserve shall be subjected to an additional 
examination by a Committee consisting of the Preachers of 
the London District, or as many of them as can conve- 
niently assemble ; that this Committee, shall decide which 
of the Candidates it may be proper to admit into the Insti- 
tution-House, and which of them shall still be kept on the 
List of Reserve for the immediate service of the home and 
foreign work ; and that, should the Committee in their 
examination judge any of these Candidates to be deficient 
in the requisite qualifications for the Christian ministry to 
such a degree as to excite a doubt whether they will ever 
become acceptable Ministers of the Gospel among us, they 
shall have power to pronounce them ineligible to be called 
out into the work for that year, and shall refer their cases 
for re-consideration to the ensuing Conference. 

(5.) That the plan of Tuition for Resident Students shall 
comprehend as many of the following subjects as, on a 
careful consideration of the previous attainments and pro- 
bable opportunities of the several Students, may be deemed 
suitable and practicable ; viz. — 

1st. English Grammar, Composition, and Elocution; 
Geography and History ; and elementary instruction in the 
Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, and Chemistry, and in 
Logic and the Philosophy of the Mind. 

2nd. Theology; including the Evidences, Doctrines, 
Duties, and Institutions of Christianity, and having par- 
ticular reference to those views of the Christian system, 
in its application to experimental and practical religion, 



THE CONFERENCE. 59 

which are held by our body to be conformable to the Holy 
Scriptures. This will also include the General Principles 
of Church Order and Government, connected with a dis- 
tinct Exposition of our own established Discipline, and of 
the proper methods of administering it for the purity, edi- 
fication, and preservation of our societies ; and a View of 
the nature and importance of the Pastoral Office and Care, 
with special reference to the duties and engagements of a 
Methodist Preacher. 

3rd. The Elements of Biblical Criticism ; the best me- 
thods of critically studying the Scriptures ; the Rules and 
Principles to be observed in their Interpretation ; Hebrew, 
Greek, and Roman Antiquities ; and the Outlines of 
Ecclesiastical History. 

4th. The most useful methods of direct preparation for 
the Pulpit; and general instructions for the composition 
and acceptable delivery of Sermons. 

5th. Such instruction in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew 
languages, as may enable the Students to read and study 
the sacred Scriptures in their original tongues, and prepare 
them for the successful pursuit of farther Classical and 
Biblical knowledge, when they shall be called into Circuits 
or Missions. This branch of instruction may, however, be 
wholly omitted, at the discretion of the Officers of the In- 
stitution, if, on examining the Student, at his first admis- 
sion, or subsequently, they shall deem it most expedient to 
confine his attention to the English and Theological Classes. 

(6.) That the care and assistance of this Institution shall 
be extended also to those Candidates for the Christian Mi- 
nistry, who cannot be received into the Institution-House; 
for which purpose they shall be regarded as Non-Resident 
Students. The object of this care and assistance shall be, 
to direct them in the prosecution of their literary and 
theological studies ; to aid them in the purchase of suitable 
books, according to a list to be prepared for that purpose ; 
and to make provision for their regular annual examination 
by one of the Officers of the Institution, assisted by such 
person or persons as the Conference may appoint, in refer- 
ence to the studies which shall have been enjoined. These 
examinations of Non-Resident Students shall take place, 
either at the House of the Institution, or elsewhere, as may 
be most convenient ; and an exact and faithful Report of 
them shall be presented every year to the Conference. 

(7.) That suitable premises for the Tutors and Resident 
Students of the Institution shall, in the first instance, be 
rented, rather than bought or erected, in order that due 
time may be afforded for the trial of the proposed plans, 



60 THE CONFERENCE. 

and for ascertaining, by experience, what accommodations 
will be ultimately needed. 

(3.) That, after much and careful deliberation, it is the 
unanimous judgment of the Committee that such premises 
should, for the present, be situated in or near London, for 
the following among other reasons :— Because, first, the 
neighbourhood of the Metropolis affords the means of 
obtaining for the Students, at a small expense, and with 
little trouble, those helps to improvement which may be 
derived from Lectures by eminent Professors, in several 
important branches of useful knowledge; helps which, 
under the direction of a vigilant Tutor, and with a proper 
degree of previous preparation, will be found of incalcula- 
ble advantage : — Because, secondly, among the Students 
there will always be a considerable number of such as are 
intended for the foreign service ; and it is especially desira- 
ble that these should be within the reach of those instruc- 
tions which are adapted to their peculiar work and pros- 
pects, and which they can receive only from the Missionary 
Secretaries : — And because, thirdly, it is eminently desira- 
ble that the Students, while in a course of preparation for 
Circuits or Missions, should be employed, every Sabbath- 
day, in preaching the Gospel, and in other auxiliary depart- 
ments of usefulness ; and it is obvious, that there are large 
and long-neglected districts, in the Metropolis itself, and 
in several adjoining counties, which appear to present the 
best and widest field for such labours, — a field, too, which, 
beyond all others in this country, is least supplied, in the 
ordinary mode, with the services of our Preachers, whether 
Itinerant or Local. 

(90 That while the Committee continue to be of opinion, 
after the most careful and mature consideration of every 
other plan which has been, at various times, proposed, that 
the best, if not the only method of fully securing the 
objects contemplated will be, to provide a suitable house 
for the common residence of the Preachers on the List of 
Reserve, they are also of opinion that this plan should be 
tried, at first, on a smaller scale than was originally sug- 
gested in the printed Report of their Meetings in October 
last : and they now recommend that provision should not, 
at present, be made in the Institution-House, for more than 
about thirty Students ; and that it should embrace, as 
nearly as may be found convenient, sixteen of the Preachers 
intended for our work in Great Britain, four of those 
intended for the service of Ireland, and ten of those who 
are entered on the Missionary list, as having already de- 
voted themselves, specifically, to the service of Christ, in 



THE CONFERENCE. 61 

foreign lands. But the number of each class may, at any- 
time, be extended, if it be deemed expedient, when adequate 
means of support shall be furnished. 

2. That part of the Plan presented by the Committee, 
and above recited, which limits the provision, at present, to 
the number of thirty Resident Students, is especially 
approved by the Conference, and shall be carried into 
operation as speedily as possible. 

3. The following Officers are appointed for the ensuing 
year ; viz. — 

(1.) The Rev. Jabez Bunting is appointed to the office of 
President of the Institution, under such arrangements as 
may render his acceptance of that office convenient to him- 
self, and compatible with the retention of his present 
situation as Senior Secretary of the Wesleyan Missionary 
Society. 

N.B. It is not intended to attach any salary whatever to 
the office of President, as such. But the Conference is of 
opinion, that an assurance should be given to the Com- 
mittee of the Missionary Society, that if it should be found 
necessary to supply Mr. Bunting's occasional " lack of ser- 
vice" at the Mission-House (in consequence of the time and 
assistance which he may gratuitously afford to this Insti- 
tution), by additional help of any kind, the expense of 
such help, or of any new arrangement connected with this 
proposal, will be cheerfully defrayed, without charge on 
the Missionary fund. On the ground of this assurance, 
and in consideration of the importance of the intended 
Institution to the Missionary Students themselves, the 
Conference trust that the Missionary Committee will con- 
cur in Mr. Bunting's appointment as President. 

(2.) The Rev. Joseph Entwisle, Sen., is appointed to the 
office of Governor of the Institution-House, to whom shall 
be committed the domestic, charge of the Establishment, 
and the pastoral care and superintendence of the Resident 
Students. In the discharge of the last-mentioned branch 
of his duty, Mr. Entwisle is expected to officiate as the 
regular weekly Class-Leader of the Students, according to 
the established practice of our Societies ; and to take every 
opportunity of promoting their personal piety, by such 
other means as it may be judged proper to adopt. 

(3.) The Rev. John Hannah, Sen., is appointed to the 
office of Theological Tutor, with the understanding that he 
shall receive such assistance in that department, from the 
President of the Institution, as the President's other duties 
may enable him to afford. 

N.B. An Assistant-Tutor shall be appointed for the 



62 THE CONFERENCE. 

Classical and English departments, who shall reside in the 
Institution-House. The selection of a proper person for 
this office is confided, for the present year, to the other 
Officers of the Institution, in conjunction with the Com- 
mittee of Management. 

4. The Committee of Management for the ensuing year 
shall consist of the following persons ; viz. — The President 
and Secretary of the Conference ; — the President, House- 
Governor, and Theological Tutor, of the Institution ; — the 
General Treasurer (Lancelot Haslope, Esq.), and General 
Secretaries of the Wesleyan-Missionary Society; — the 
Editor and Book-Steward ; — with the following Ministers 
and Gentlemen: — [Here follow the names of forty-eight 
Preachers and Laymen.] 

5. To this Committee the Conference confides the 
arrangement of the details of the plan, the selection of 
suitable premises for the Institution-House, the prepara- 
tion of a system of Rules for the regulation of the Institu- 
tion, and the immediate execution of such parts of the 
entire Plan, as may be found practicable to carry into effect 
during the ensuing year. And they are requested to re- 
port their proceedings to the next Conference. 

6. The most cordial thanks of the Conference are unani- 
mously presented to those friends of the proposed Institu- 
tion, in different Circuits, who have already signified their 
intention to support it by the very liberal Donations and 
Annual Subscriptions affixed to their names in the Lists 
presented to the Conference. And the Committee are 
authorised to take forthwith such measures as to them 
shall seem best for obtaining the further pecuniary assist- 
ance required for the full accomplishment of this important 
Plan. 1834. 

XXXVI. In reference to the Memorials, transmitted by 
certain individuals in several Circuits, on the proceed- 
ings of the Manchester District-Meeting in the case of 
Mr. Stephens, the Conference only deems it necessary to 
record its conscientious determination not to allow its faith- 
ful exercise of discipline upon the Ministers with whom it 
holds communion, and for whose public character and 
conduct it is responsible to the Connexion and to the 
great Head of the Church, to be interrupted or prevented 
by the interference of persons, however respectable and 
estimable, whose information as to the facts of these cases 
must of necessity be exceedingly defective and partial. 
And the Conference regrets that any of our friends should 
have been betrayed into such unwarrantable censures of 
absent parties, and premature announcements of opinion on 
matters not yet finally decided by the tribunals to which, 



THE STATIONING COMMITTEE. 63 

according to the established rales and usages of our Con- 
nexion, they properly belong. 1834. [See The Leeds Case, 
infra.'] 



III. THE STATIONING COMMITTEE, 

1. Q. What directions are necessary concerning the 
forming of Committees to draw up a plan for the stationing 
of the Preachers in Great Britain and Ireland ? 

A. 1. The Committee of every District in England and 
Scotland shall elect one of their body, to form a Committee 
to draw up a plan for the stationing of the Preachers in 
Great Britain : which Committee shall meet at the place 
where the Conference is held, three days in the week pre- 
ceding the Conference, in order to draw up the above-men- 
tioned plan. 

2. The Committee of every District in Ireland shall send 
one of their body to meet the delegate, two days before the 
Irish Conference, for the same purpose. 1791. 

II. Q. Have the Senior Preachers been always stationed 
as they wished ? 

A. Some of them have not. In future, the aged Preachers 
shall be provided with Circuits before any of the others. 
1800. 

III. Q. Has sufficient care been taken in superannuating 
Preachers, or in making them Supernumeraries ? 

A. In several cases we have reason to think there has not. 
Henceforward, let no Preacher be declared Superannuated, 
or stationed as a Supernumerary, without the recommen- 
dation of the District-Committee to which he belongs, un- 
less for particular reasons, the Conference, with his own 
consent, judge it proper. 1800. 

IV. Q. Have the Preachers, who do not come to the Con- 
ference, been properly informed of their appointments ? 

A. They have not always been informed in time. To 
remedy this in future, let the Representative of any District 
write to his brethren (who remain in the Circuits) where 
they are stationed, as soon as he can, that the Stationing 
Committee may be enabled to please every one, as far as 
possible. 1800. 

V. Q. What can be done to expedite the business of sta- 
tioning the Preachers ? 

A. 1. Let not the District-Committees interfere with the 
stations of the Preachers. 

2. Let no letters concerning stations be in the least de- 
gree regarded, but such as come from the majorities of re- 
gular Quarterly-Meetings. 



64 THE STATIONING COMMITTEE. 

N.B. Letters which may be sent from Committees shall 
not be attended to any more than those from individuals. 

3. Let the letters which are sent from the Quarterly- 
Meetings be carefully read and considered first by the 
Stationing Committee, and then by the Conference. 

4. Let the appointments made by the Stationing Com- 
mittee be final, in respect to all Preachers upon trial. 1805. 

VI. In stationing the Preachers, let particular care be 
taken that the removals be as short as possible ; much 
money having, we fear, been sometimes needlessly ex- 
pended in removing families to a greater distance than was 
either necessary or expedient, from the place of their last 
appointment. 1805. 

VII. Q. Is any alteration necessary in our Rules respect- 
ing the stationing of the Preachers ? 

A. In future, no Preacher is to return to a Circuit, 
where he has before been stationed, till he has been absent 
from it eight years. 1807. 

VIII. In order to prevent an unnecessary increase of 
Preachers, and that the Conference may make the best 
selection out of such young men as are annually recom- 
mended to travel, it is agreed : — 

1. That the Stationing Committee shall only station, in 
their preparatory plan, such Preachers as they find on the 
Minutes of the preceding year. 

2. All proposals for employing an additional Preacher in 
any Circuit, shall be considered and allowed in full Con- 
ference, before such Preacher be entered on the Plan of 
Stations. 

3. The Stationing Committee are allowed to adopt pro- 
visionally, into their plan, all those proposed divisions of 
Circuits, which are sanctioned by the District-Meetings, in 
order that suitable Superintendents may be found for the 
new Circuits ; but such proposed divisions shall be brought 
before the Conference by a special report, and allowed or 
rejected, before the stations are considered. 1813. 

IX. Married Preachers are to be stationed, in future, in 
all the Circuits in proportion to the numbers in Society. 1813. 

N.B. The proportion here intended, is thus expressed in 
an Address of the same year, to the Circuit and Society 
Stewards : — "It appears, on a fair calculation, that on this 
principle, one married Preacher ought to be sent, where 
there are 450 members ; two where there are 900 ; three 
where there are 1350, and so on." 

X. No additional Single Preacher can be sent, in future, 
to any Circuit, unless such Circuit engage to support an 
additional Married Preacher, instead of the Single Preacher, 
at the end of four years at the latest. 1813. 



THE STATIONING COMMITTEE. 65 

XL Q. What is the deliberate judgment of this Con- 
ference respecting the Triennial Stations of our Preachers ? 

A. It is agreed, that in order to make our Regulation on 
this subject more strictly conformable to the provisions of 
Mr. Wesley's Deed of Declaration (which is enrolled in 
Chancery, and constitutes the legal Charter of Metho- 
dism) ; and with a view to the saving of expense, the im- 
provement of our Preachers, and the spiritual welfare of 
our people, the Rule shall be as follows : — 

" Whenever it is proposed to station any Preacher in the 
same Circuit for a third year in succession, the reasons as- 
signed for such triennial station shall be specially stated to 
the Conference, before the appointment is confirmed." 

N.B. Mr. AVesley's Deed of Declaration enacts, that " the 
Conference shall not nor may appoint any person for more 
than three years successively to any Chapel." 1818. 

XII. Q. What is the judgment of the Conference re- 
specting the practice which has recently prevailed, of form- 
ing Circuits in which only one Travelling Preacher has been 
stationed ? 

A. The Conference strongly disapproves of the practice ; 
and resolves, that, even in the cases where this plan has 
been introduced, or where, from some strong necessity, a 
Circuit of that kind may be formed in future, a change of 
the Preacher with some of the Brethren in the neighbouring 
Circuits shall be appointed, and published in the Minutes, 
so that no Preacher may be stationed alone, without provision 
for such a change, in any part of the kingdom. 1820. 

XIII. One of the General Secretaries for our Foreign 
Missions shall be, from year to year, a member of the Sta- 
tioning Committee. 1823. 

XIV. Q. Shall any regulation be made respecting the 
attendance of the President and Secretary of the Con- 
ference on the Meetings of the Stationing Committee ? 

A. 1. As the President and Secretary for the time being 
are ex-officio Members of that Committee, they shall in fu- 
ture attend it only in their public and official character, as 
persons specially charged with the general interests of the 
whole Connexion ; and neither of them shall be considered 
eligible to be sent by any particular District, as its local 
representative. 

2. The President and Secretary of the preceding Con- 
ference, havingattendedthemeetings of the Stationing Com- 
mittee at their commencement, shall continue to be official 
Members of it during the whole of its sittings for that year; 
even when it may be necessary for the completion of its 
business, that it should occasionally assemble after the 



66 THE STATIONING COMMITTEE. 

election of the new President or Secretary shall have taken 
place. 1824. 

XV. The Rule, made many years ago, which prohibits 
Preachers on Trial from being stationed in certain Circuits, 
is now rescinded; and they may be stationed in future, 
without any restriction, in those Circuits which are likely 
to be most favourable to their improvement and usefulness. 
1825. 

XVI. Q. What can be done to meet the reasonable claims 
of those junior Preachers who, having been regularly ad- 
mitted into full Connexion, shall afterwards marry, as our 
rules allow, but cannot immediately be stationed as married 
Preachers, on account of the present deficiency of Preach- 
ers' houses in certain Circuits ? 

A. 1. Let such Preachers give timely and explicit notice, 
by their Representatives, to the Stationing Committee, 
which shall assemble before the Conference at which their 
probation will expire, that it is their intention to marry 
during their fifth year of itinerancy. 

2. Where such notice has been duly received, the Sta- 
tioning Committee shall, be at liberty to appoint such 
Preachers to suitable Circuits, — in the place, if necessary, 
of the unmarried Preachers formerly stationed there. 

3. Every Preacher so stationed shall be entitled to re- 
ceive, in addition to the allowances usually made by his 
Circuit for an unmarried Preacher, the further sum of 
Six Pounds per quarter, in lieu of all ordinary claims for 
wife's quarterage, for rent, &c. &c. The first quarterly 
allowance shall commence at the next Quarterly Meeting 
after his marriage, and shall be continued during the re- 
mainder of the year, unless the Circuit can sooner obtain 
for him a suitable house, and make the usual provision for 
a married Preacher. 

4. The allowances specified in the preceding rule shall 
be paid by the Circuit-Stewards whenever the funds of the 
Circuit will admit of it ; and where that cannot be done, 
out of the Contingent Fund; — a sufficient additional grant 
being made for that purpose, if necessary, by the Com- 
mittee of Distribution at the close of the Conference, to 
the Districts in which, the Preachers entitled to such al- 
lowances maybe stationed. 1827. 



67 



II. CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 

1. Q. What Regulations are necessary for the preser- 
vation of our whole Economy, as the Rev. Mr. Wesley 
left it ? 

A. Let the three kingdoms be divided into Districts. 
1791.* 

II. Q. What Regulations shall be made concerning the 
management of the Districts ? 

A. 1. The Chairman shall have authority to call a meet- 
ing of the Committee of his District, on any application 
of the Preachers or People, which appears to him to re- 
quire it. But he must never individually interfere with 
any other Circuit but his own. 

2. Whenever the Chairman has received any complaint 
against a Preacher, either from the Preachers or the 
People, he shall send an exact account of the complaint 
in writing to the person accused, with the name of the 
accuser or accusers, before he calls a meeting of the Dis- 
trict-Committee to examine into the charge. 

3. If it appear on just grounds to any Superintendent, 
that the Chairman of his District has been guilty of any 
crime or misdemeanour, or that he has neglected to call a 
meeting of the District-Committee, when there were suffi- 
cient reasons for calling it, such Superintendents shall 
have authority, in that case, to call a meeting of the 
District-Committee, and to fix the time and place of meet- 
ing. The Committee thus assembled, shall have power, if 
they judge necessary, to try the Chairman, and, if found 
guilty, to suspend him from being a Travelling Preacher 
till the ensuing Conference, or to remove him from the 
office of a Superintendent, or to depose him from the chair, 
and to elect another in his place. 1792. 

III. Q. Shall any alteration be made concerning the 
exercise of the office of a Chairman of a District ? 

A. 1. If any Preacher be accused of immorality, the 
Preacher accused, and his accuser, shall respectively choose 

* Nineteen Districts were this year formed in England, two in Scot- 
land, and six in Ireland ; each of which consisted of several adjoining 
Circuits ; and the Conference have since, from time to time, increased 
the Districts in number, and subdivided or otherwise altered them, as 
they deemed necessary or expedient. In order that the business and 
affairs of District-Meetings might be properly and regularly conducted, 
the Conference have annually appointed for each respective District, one 
of the Preachers stationed for the time being in a Circuit within such 
District, to be " the Chairman of the District ;" and a meeting of the 
Preachers within each respective District is called, and generally known 
by the name of " the District-Committee," or, " the District-Meeting." 



68 CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 

two Preachers of their District; and the Chairman of the 
District shall, with the four Preachers chosen as above, 
try the accused Preacher ; and they shall have authority, 
if he be found guilty, to suspend him till the ensuing Con- 
ference, if they judge it expedient. 

2. If there be any difference between the Preachers in a 
District, the respective parties shall choose two Preachers ; 
and the Chairman of the District, with the four Preachers 
so chosen, shall be final arbiters to determine the matters 
in dispute. 

In both cases the Chairman shall have a casting voice, 
in case of an equality. 1793.* 

IV. In order to render our Districts more effective : — 

1. The President of the Conference shall have power, 
when applied to, to supply a Circuit with Preachers, if 
any should die, or desist from travelling ; and to sanction 
any change of Preachers which it may be necessary to 
make in the intervals of the Conference. And to assist at 
any District-Meeting, if applied to for that purpose, by 
the Chairman of the District, or by a majority of the 
Superintendents in such District. And he shall have a 
right, if written to by any who are concerned, to visit any 
Circuit, and to inquire into their affairs with respect to 
Methodism, and, in union with the District-Committee, 
redress any grievance. 

2. The Chairman of each District, in conjunction with 
his Brethren of the Committee, shall be responsible to the 
Conference for the execution of the Laws, as far as his 
District is concerned. 

3. That no Chairman may have cause to complain of the 
want of power, in cases which (according to his judgment) 
cannot be settled in the ordinary District-Meeting, he shall 
have authority to summon three of the nearest Superin- 
tendents, to be incorporated with the District-Committee, 
who shall have equal authority to vote, and settle every 
thing till the Conference. 

4. The Conference recommends it to the Superintendents 
of the Circuits, to invite, on all important occasions, the 
Chairman of their respective District, to be present at 
their Quarterly-Meetings. 

5. The Chairman of every District shall be chosen by 
the ballot of the Conference, after the names of all the 
Preachers in the District have been read to them by the 
Secretary. 1797- 

* Whatever in the ahove rules in 1792 and 1793, has reference to the 
suspension of a Preacher from his ministerial duties, has been superseded 
by the rules adopted, at the instance of the people, in the year 1795. — 
See the Plan of Pacification. 



CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 69 

V. Q. What other directions shall be given concerning the 
District-Meetings ? 

A. A book shall be kept by the Committee of each Dis- 
trict, in which every thing resolved upon or transacted, 
shall be minuted down, and every such book shall be 
handed down to the Chairmen successively. 1/99- 

VI. The Chairman of every District in Great Britain, 
shall annually inquire, at the meeting of his Committee, 
whether there be any Preachers among themselves, or any 
proper persons among the Local Preachers in their District, 
who are willing to go upon the Foreign Missions. And 
6ach Chairman shall make his report on this subject to the 
ensuing Conference. And every Superintendent is to pro- 
pose, as soon as possible, to the Quarterly-Meeting, any 
Local Preacher who is qualified for, and willing to go on a 
Foreign Mission ; that he may be afterward proposed to 
the District-Committee, and lastly to the Conference. 1800. 

VII. Q. Is any further direction to be given respecting 
the Marriage of the Preachers ? 

A. When any Preacher has married in the course of the 
year, let the ensuing District-Meeting carefully inquire, 
whether he have complied with the apostolical injunction, 
binding on all Christians, but more especially on all Chris- 
tian Ministers, to marry only in the Lord: and if there be 
reason to believe the contrary, let the Chairman report the 
same to the Conference. 1806. 

VIII. Before the deficiencies brought from any Circuit 
are paid at the District-Meeting, inquiry shall be made, 
whether such Circuit has complied with our Rules respect- 
ing contributions, by raising, on the average, one penny per 
week, and one shilling per quarter for each member. If it 
appear that the Rules have not been complied with, the 
payment of the deficiencies of that Circuit shall be sus- 
pended, and the case reported to the Conference for their 
decision. 1809. 

IX. Q. What is the proper method of accomplishing 
such new arrangements or partial alterations of Circuits, 
as may be judged necessary for the general good? 

A. It has already been agreed, " that no Circuit shall be 
divided, till such division has been approved by their re- 
spective Quarterly-Meetings." But the boundaries . of 
existing Circuits may be regulated, and partial alterations 
made, without dividing them, or making any new Circuit ; 
and such arrangements the District-Meetings have au- 
thority to make : subject, however, to the decision of Con- 
ference, if there be any appeal against them. 1809- 

X. Q. What is the decision of the Brethren concerning 
the attendance of Preachers at the Conference ? 



70 CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 

A. The following shall be printed as the Revised Rules 
of the Connexion on this subject. The District-Committees 
respectively shall have the right of fixing upon the Preach- 
ers who are to attend the Conference ; subject, however, to 
the following limitations ; viz. — 

1. The expenses of going to and from the Conference 
shall be defrayed by the Circuits, or by the Preachers them- 
selves. 

2. Let not all the Preachers from any Circuit ever come 
to the Conference, except from within such a distance of 
the place where it is held, as will admit of their supplying 
their places on the Lord's-days ; or except, in very special 
cases, the District-Meeting shall unanimously decide that 
all the Brethren in any Circuit ought to attend. 

3. Let those who have leave to attend, set out as late — 
and return as soon — as possible. 

4. The Preachers on trial shall not attend the Confer- 
ence, unless sent for, or unless stationed within such a 
distance of the place where it is held, as will admit of 
supplying their places on the LordVday. 

5. Nothing in these Rules shall be so construed as to 
prevent those Preachers from attending the Conference, 
against whom there lies any accusation or complaint. 
1809. [See also No. XVIIL] 

XI. The Chairmen of our Districts are required not 
only to examine very minutely in their District-Meetings, 
all persons proposed to travel as Preachers among lis ; but 
also to report distinctly in their District-Minutes, for the 
consideration of the Conference, the opinion of the Dis- 
trict-Meetings, after such examination, respecting their 
health, piety, and moral character, ministerial abilities, belief 
of our doctrines, attachment to our discipline, and freedom 
from debt, as well as from all secular encumbrances. In the 
same District-Minutes, the Preacher who recommends any 
Candidate shall state his age, and sign a recommendatory 
character of him, which may forthwith be copied, if the 
Conference receive such Candidate upon trial, into the 
book provided for that purpose. 1810. 

XII. Q. Have all the branches of our discipline been 
properly executed ? 

A. We fear not ; and therefore the Conference directs 
that every Superintendent shall take care that the Plans 
for the Local and Travelling Preachers be made by him- 
self or his colleagues ; that no person be permitted to ad- 
minister the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Sup- 
per, but a Travelling Preacher in full Connexion ; that the 
Stewards be annually changed or re-elected in every Cir- 
cuit ; and that the Chapels which are not yet settled, be 



CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 71 

speedily settled on the Conference Plan. The Conference 
desires that all the Chairmen of Districts will inquire par- 
ticularly into these matters at the District-Meetings, and 
report the result of their inquiries to the ensuing Confer- 
ence. 1811. 

XIII. Q. Is any regulation necessary respecting the 
annual examination of Preachers in our District-Meet- 
ings ? 

A. Let it be clearly understood that every Chairman is 
required to ask the following questions, distinctly and suc- 
cessively, concerning every Brother — viz., 

1. Is there any objection to his moral and religious cha- 
racter ? 

2. Does he believe and preach our Doctrines ? 

3. Has he duly observed and enforced our Discipline ? 

4. Has he competent abilities for our Itinerant Work ? — 
A separate answer to each of these questions is expected to 
appear in the District-Minutes. 

N.B. The inquiries concerning various branches of dis- 
cipline, mentioned in the Answer to the preceding Ques- 
tion of 1811, are to be made annually by every Chairman, 
and the result reported to the Conference. 1812. 

XIV. The Chairmen of Districts are ordered to inquire, 
at the next District-Meetings, what employment there 
is both on the Lord's-days and on other days, for the 
Preachers of every Circuit, in their respective Districts, 
and to report the result of such inquiries in their District- 
Minutes. 1813. 

N.B. They are also charged with seeing the Rules re- 
specting the Preachers' Auxiliary Fund executed. [See 
Auxiliary Fund, No. III., 1, 4, 5.] 

XV. Q. Can any additional methods be devised, in order 
to promote the mental improvement of our Preachers ? 

A. 1. The Chairmen of Districts shall, at each District- 
Meeting, examine every Preacher on trial, respecting the 
course of theological reading which he may have pursued 
in the course of the preceding year. For this purpose 
every such Preacher is required to deliver to the Chair- 
man of his District, a list of the Books which he has read 
since the preceding District-Meeting. These lists shall be 
laid before the Meeting, that the senior Brethren may 
have an opportunity of giving to the junior Preachers, 
such advices and directions respecting their studies as may 
appear to be necessary. 

2. Before any Preacher, having travelled four years, is 
recommended by his District-Meeting, for admission into 
full connexion, he shall undergo a careful examination, by 
the Chairman of that Meeting, respecting his acquaint- 



72 CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 

ance with Mr. Wesley's Works in general, and especially 
with his Sermons, and his Notes on the New Testament, 
in addition to the other Examinations required by our exist- 
ing Rules : and no Preacher shall be so recommended, un- 
less the result of his Examination be satisfactory to the 
Meeting. 

3. Those Preachers on trial, who do not already possess 
Mr. Wesley's Works, are required to procure them, during 
the period of their probation : and shall be allowed to pay 
for them to our Book-Steward, if they desire it, by such 
instalments as may best suit their convenience. 

4. We recommend to all our Preachers Mr. Benson's 
Commentary on the Holy Scriptures ; and we direct our 
Book-Steward to allow those Preachers who shall choose 
it, to purchase that Commentary for their own use, at one- 
half of the selling price. 1815. 

XVI. The Conference directs and requires the Chair- 
man, and other Members of every District-Meeting, to be 
very exact in the examination of all claims on the Contin- 
gent Fund for the article of house-rent, and to make every 
proper and possible reduction in that branch of our ge- 
neral expenditure. 1817. 

XVII. When any Preachers, who are already employed 
in the work at home, offer themselves at their respective 
District-Meetings for foreign service, the Chairman shall 
immediately transmit an account of such offers to the 
Committee in London, and shall state distinctly whether 
the candidates can, or cannot, conveniently attend at the 
Conference then next ensuing. In the case of those who 
can attend the Conference, a Committee shall be then ap- 
pointed, for the purpose of examining them as to their 
fitness for our foreign work, and shall report to the Con- 
ference the result of their examination. And in case of 
those who cannot attend the Conference for this purpose, 
they shall be directed to attend the Committee in London, 
in order to be examined by them, at such time as they 
shall appoint, previously to the Meeting of the Confer- 
ence. 1817. 

XVIII. Q. Is it necessary to enforce our Rules which 
regulate the attendance of the Preachers at the Confer- 
ences ? 

A. It appears in some instances those Rules have not 
been duly observed. We therefore direct that the Revised 
Rules on this subject, as published in the Minutes of 1809, 
[see No. X.] shall be annually read by the Chairman in 
every District-Meeting, just before the List is made of 
Preachers who are allowed to attend the following Confer- 
ence. The District-Meetings are required to act strictly 



CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 73 

upon the Rules thus read. And every Chairman is di- 
rected to present to the President, during the first week of 
the Conference, a List of any Preachers in his Disrict, 
who shall have come to the Conference in violation of 
these Rules, or without the consent of the District-Meet- 
ing. 1818. 

XIX. It is agreed, that a Special Financial District- 
Meeting shall be held in each District in the month of 
September, consisting of such Preachers as can conveni- 
ently attend (the Superintendent at least of each Circuit), 
and also of the Circuit Stewards throughout the District, 
whose presence, as the official financial representatives of 
their several Circuits, shall be most earnestly requested. The 
place of meeting shall be determined by the Chairman, 
and the time shall be so fixed, as to precede the Michael- 
mas Quarterly-Meetings. 1820. 

XX. Q. What measures can we adopt for the increase 
of Spiritual Religion among our Societies and Congrega- 
tions, and for the extension of the work of God in our 
native country ? 

A. After long and deeply serious deliberation on this 
important question, we have unanimously agreed to the 
following results : — 

1 . We, on this solemn occasion, devote ourselves afresh 
to Cod ; and resolve, in humble dependance on his grace, 
to be more than ever attentive to Personal Religion, and 
to the Christian Instruction and Government of our own 
Families. 

2. Let us endeavour, in our public Ministry, to preach 
constantly all those leading and vital Doctrines of the 
Gospel, which peculiarly distinguished the original Metho- 
dist Preachers, whose labours were so signally blessed by 
the Lord, and to preach them in our primitive method, — 
evangelically, experimentally, zealously, and with great 
plainness and simplicity; giving to them a decided pro- 
minence in every Sermon, and labouring to apply them 
closely, affectionately, and energetically to the consciences 
of the different classes of our hearers. 

3. Let us consecrate ourselves fully and entirely to our 
proper work, as servants of Christ and his Church, giving 
ourselves "wholly" to it, both in public and in private, 
and guarding against all occupations of our time and 
thoughts, which have no direct connexion with our great 
calling, and which would injuriously divert our attention 
from the momentous task of saving souls, and taking care 
of the flock of Christ. 

4. Let us "covet earnestly the best gifts," to qualify us 
for an acceptable and useful ministry ; let us seek them in 



74 CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 

prayer from Him who is the Father of Lights and Foun- 
tain of wisdom ; let us " stir up/' and improve by study 
and diligent cultivation, " the gift that is in us ;" and strive 
in every way to be workmen "who need not to be ashamed, 
rightly dividing the Word of Truth ;" taking care, how- 
ever, that, whatever other qualifications we may acquire 
and use, our Ministry shall, at least, by the divine bless- 
ing, be always characterised by sound evangelical doctrine, 
by plainness of speech, and by a spirit of tender affection 
and burning zeal. 

5. Let us frequently read, and carefully study, Mr. Wes- 
ley's " Rules of a Helper," and other parts of the large 
Minutes which relate to the duties of a Preacher and Pastor. 

6. In order to promote an increase of the Congregations, 
and a revival of the work of God, let us have recourse, 
even in our old-established Circuits, to the practice of 
preaching out of doors j seeking, in order to save, that which 
is lost. 

7. In every Circuit, let us try to open new Places ; let 
us try again places which have not been recently visited ; 
let us be increasingly attentive to the supply and superin- 
tendence of the country places already on the Plan ; let us 
not be satisfied till every town, village, and hamlet in our 
respective neighbourhoods shall be blessed, as far as we 
can possibly accomplish it, with the means of grace and 
salvation ; in a word, let every Methodist Preacher con- 
sider himself as called to be, in point of enterprise, zeal, 
and diligence, a Home Missionary, and to enlarge and extend, 
as well as keep, the Circuit to which he is appointed. 

8. Let us, wherever it shall appear to be practicable, 
especially in the old and large Societies, employ some active, 
zealous men, whose piety and general character shall be 
approved by the Leaders' Meetings, to attempt the forma- 
tion of new Classes in suitable neighbourhoods, where we 
may hope by that method to gather into the fold of Christ 
some persons who are " not far from the kingdom of God," 
but who need special invitation, and are not likely to " give 
themselves" fully " to the Lord and to us by the will of 
God," without more than ordinary labour and spiritual at- 
tention. 

9. Let us speak plainly and pointedly in every place, both 
in those occasional meetings of the Society at which stran- 
gers are allowed to be present, and in our sermons on the 
duty and advantage of Christian Communion ; and exhort 
all who are seeking salvation, to avail themselves without 
delay of the help of our more private means of grace. 

10. Let us encourage public Prayer-Meetings, especially 
those which are held at times which do not interfere with 



CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 



75 



our general worship, in the houses of our friends, in differ- 
ent parts of a town or neighbourhood ; such meetings 
having been long proved to be, when prudently conducted 
by persons of established piety and competent gifts, and 
duly superintended by the Preachers, and by the Leaders' 
Meetings, valuable nurseries for our Congregations and So- 
cieties, and means of salvation to many who could not have 
been reached at first in any other method. 

11. In country places, where a full supply of preaching 
cannot be obtained, either by Travelling or Local Preachers, 
let suitable persons, belonging to the nearest Societies, be 
encouraged to attend, under the direction of the superin- 
tendent, for the purpose of Public Prayer and Exhortation, 
and occasionally to read to the Congregations a short and 
plain Sermon on the First Principles of the Doctrine of 
Christ, until such places can be favoured with other and 
more regular opportunities of instruction in righteousness. 

12. Let us ourselves remember, and endeavour to im- 
press on our people, that we, as a Body, do not exist for 
the purposes of party ; and that we are especially bound 
by the example of our Founder, by the original principle 
on which our Societies are formed, and by our constant 
professions before the world, to avoid a narrow, bigoted, 
and sectarian spirit, to abstain from needless and unprofit- 
able disputes on minor subjects of theological controversy, 
and, as far as we innocently can, to " please all men for 
their good unto edification." Let us, therefore, maintain 
towards all denominations of Christians, who "hold the 
Head," the kind and catholic spirit of primitive Methodism ; 
and, according to the noble maxim of our Fathers in the 
Gospel, " be the friends of all, the enemies of none." 

13. Let us, at least in every large town, establish weekly 
meetings for the children of our friends, according to our 
ancient custom; and let us pay particular spiritual atten- 
tion, in public and in private, to the young people of our 
Societies and Congregations. 

14. Let us meet the Societies regularly on the Lord's- 
day ; and frequently on the week-day evenings, in country 
places, where we do not preach on the LordVday : — Let 
the Members be accustomed, on such occasions, to show 
their Society Tickets ; and let us endeavour to make these 
Meetings interesting and appropriate to our Members, as 
such, — by giving to our Addresses an immediate reference 
to the state of the people, to the circumstances of each 
Society, and to their peculiar duties, both personal and 
domestic, as professors of religion, and as Methodists, and 
by frequently explaining and enforcing our own Rules. 

15. Let us revive, where it has been neglected, and pro- 



76 CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 

mote in every place, the observance of those parts of our 
discipline, which refer to Watch-Nights, Private and 
Public Bands, and Quarterly Days for solemn Fasting 
and Prayer. 

16. Let us, wherever we have access and opportunity, be 
diligent in pastoral visits to our people, at their own houses, 
especially to the sick, the careless, and the lukewarm. 

17- But as such private visits must, in many cases, from 
our plan of continual itinerancy and village preaching, and 
from the number of Members in the larger Societies, be 
greatly limited, let us endeavour so to arrange in our several 
Circuits the Plans for the Quarterly Public Visitation of the 
Classes, as to allow full time for a more minute examina- 
tion into the Christian knowledge, experience, and practice 
of the Members, and for pastoral inquiries, instructions, 
and counsels, respecting personal and family religion. 

18. Let us regularly meet the Class-Leaders, and ex- 
amine their Class-Papers, in town and country ; and do all 
we can to engage both them, and our respected Brethren, 
the Local Preachers, to co-operate with us, in their respec- 
tive departments, in promoting vital godliness among our 
people, and extending the work of the Lord. 
. 19. As much depends, under the blessing of God, on the 
piety, knowledge, zeal, activity, and Christian temper, of 
our Leaders, as well as on their firm attachment to the 
doctrines, discipline, and cause of Methodism, let us never 
nominate a new Leader, until we have conscientiously 
satisfied ourselves by previous inquiry, and personal exami- 
nation, as to the character and qualifications of the person 
proposed ; and let us act uniformly on the Rule respecting 
the Public Examination of Leaders, which is found in our 
Minutes of 1811. 

20 Let us, whenever a new Leader, nominated by us, 
and accepted by the Leaders' Meeting, shall be first intro- 
duced into the Meeting, take that opportunity of stating 
the duties which belong to the ofhce, and of enforcing 
them on all present. 

21. Let us affectionately, but firmly, enforce on the 
Leaders, as an essential article of our pastoral discipline, 
and one, which, in consequence of our own constant itine- 
rancy, cannot be dispensed with, the Rule of the Society in 
which it is stated to be the duty of a Leader " to see every 
Member in his Class once in every week." 

22. Let us pay particular attention to Backsliders, and 
endeavour, in the spirit of meekness, to restore them that 
-have been overtaken in a fault, and by private efforts, as 
well as by oui public ministrations, to recover the fallen 
out of the snare of the Devil. 



CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 77 

23. Let us afresh enforce on all our people a conscien- 
tious attendance on the Lord's Supper. 

24. Let us earnestly exhort our Societies to make the 
best and most religious use of the rest and leisure of the 
Lord's-day : — let. us admonish any individuals who shall 
be found to neglect our public worship, under pretence of 
visiting the sick, or other similar engagements ;— let us 
show to our people the evil of wasting those portions of the 
Sabbath, which are not spent in public worship, in visits, 
or in receiving company, to the neglect of private prayer, 
of the perusal of the Scriptures, and of family duties, and, 
often, to the serious spiritual injury of servants, who are 
thus improperly employed, and deprived of the public 
means of grace ; — let us set an example in this matter,-*by 
refusing for ourselves and for our families, to spend in 
visits, when there is no call of duty or necessity, the sacred 
hours of the Holy Sabbath; — and let us never allow the 
Lord's-day to be secularized by meetings of mere business, 
when such business refers only to the temporal affairs of 
the Church of God. 

25. With a view to promote, in the families and schools 
of our Connexion, the uniform and regular practice of Ca- 
techetical instruction, which, especially in the present state 
of our Body, and of our Country at large, we deem to be of 
the highest importance, — we agree that a series of Cate- 
chisms shall be prepared, and recommended for general 
use among us : and we earnestly request Mr. Benson and 
Mr. Watson to draw up such Catechisms, and to submit 
them to the examination of the next Conference. 

26. In conducting our Leaders' and Quarterly-Meetings, 
and all other official Meetings among us, let us affection- 
ately and steadily discountenance the spirit of strife and 
debate, and promote, in the management of all our affairs, 
both by our advice and example, the temper and manner 
of men who are acting for God in the service of his Church. 
— Let the introduction of all topics of useless or irritating 
discussion, not legitimately connected with the proper 
business of such Meetings, be prudently repressed. — Let 
us remember that in a large Body, the only way to live in 
peace and comfort, is to walk by rule, and (to use the language 
of Mr. Wesley) " not to mend our Rules, but to keep them 
for conscience sake." — And while we readily and cheerfully 
protect all our Members, in Meetings in which we preside, 
in the exercise of such functions as belong to them, accord- 
ing to our Laws and general usages, let us not forget that 
we are under solemn obligations to conduct ourselves on 
such occasions, not as the mere Chairmen of public Meet- 
ings, but as the Pastors of Christian Societies, put in trust 



78 CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 

by the Ordinance of God, and by their own voluntary asso- 
ciation with us, with the Scriptural superintendence of 
their spiritual affairs, and responsible to the great Head of 
the Church for the faithful discharge of the duties of that 
trust. 

27- We affectionately exhort those of our own people, 
who are laudably active in various benevolent Institutions, 
while they persevere in every good word and work, to guard 
against the danger of expending all their leisure and in- 
fluence on mere local and subordinate Charities, so as to 
neglect God's own direct and immediate Institutions, such. 
as the public preaching of the Gospel, or to deprive them- 
selves of the opportunity of regularly attending their 
Classes, and of private prayer and reading of the Holy 
Scriptures. It should not be forgotten that the great 
spiritual work of God depends, under the Divine blessing, 
on the general and conscientious use of his Institutions; 
and that, in the success of that work, all other good un- 
dertakings among us had their origins, and must ever have 
their principal support. " These things ought ye to have 
done, and not to have left the other undone." 

28. In order that the state of the Work may be con- 
stantly under the eye of the Preachers, we agree to revive 
uniformly the good old custom of keeping Quarterly Sche- 
dules in every Circuit, each of which shall contain a cor- 
rect Statement, for the Quarter to which it belongs, of 
Persons admitted on Trial,— New Members fully admitted 
into Society after due probation, — Removals into other 
Circuits, — Deaths, — Backsliders, — Conversions, — Number 
in the Bands, — and Total Number of Members then in the 
Society. — The Book-Steward shall prepare, and furnish to 
every Circuit, a sufficient number of Printed Forms of such 
a Schedule, to be filled up by the Preachers, in reference to 
every distinct Class, during their Quarterly Visitations : — 
and from these, each Superintendent shall draw up every 
Quarter one General Schedule, containing an Account of 
all the Societies in his Circuit, in relation to the several 
particulars above-mentioned. These General Circuit-Sche- 
dules each Superintendent is expected to produce, whenever 
required so to do, at the Annual District-Meeting, or at the 
Conference. 

29. Every Superintendent is required to leave for his 
Successor in the Circuit-Book, not only a List of the Town 
and Circuit-Stewards, and of the Annual Subscribers to 
our several Funds, &c, but especially an exact List of the 
Names of all the Members in his Circuit, arranged in their 
several Classes and Societies, as found at the preceding 
Midsummer- Visitation. 



CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 79 

30. But as we are deeply sensible that the great thing to 
be desired, in order to a Revival and Extension of the 
"Work of God, without which no resolutions, or labours, or 
regulations will avail, is a new and more abundant 
effusion of the HOLY SPIRIT on ourselves, on our 
Societies, and on our Congregations, — we solemnly agree 
to seek that blessing in humble and earnest prayer. And 
we hereby appoint that the day of the next Quarterly Fast, 
namely, the Friday after Michaelmas -Day, October 6th, shall 
be observed in all our Circuits, as a day of special Fasting 
and Prayer to Almighty God. — Let Meetings for Public 
Supplication be held, in as many places as possible, in 
every Circuit; and let the Preachers speak largely and 
particularly on the subject in their Sermons on the pre- 
ceding Lord's-day. 

31. The various articles included in this Minute, shall be 
read by every Chairman at the next regular annual Meeting 
of his District : and shall then be made the subject of seri- 
ous conversation among the Brethren, with a view to their 
particular bearing on the spiritual state and circumstances 
of each District respectively. 1820. 

XXI. It is resolved : — 

1. That in the regular Minutes of every District-Meet- 
ing, the Chairman is required to direct the annual insertion 
of a complete and particular List of the names of all the 
Children of Preachers then stationed in that District, for 
whom the usual Quarterage is claimed, during that year, 
whether paid by the Treasurer of the General Children's 
Fund, or in the Circuits : and to the name of each Child on 
the List shall be appended its age, at the Midsummer Quar- 
ter-day of that year j so that it may be annually ascertained 
by the compilation of one general List, not only how many 
Children have claims on the Circuits or Fund, but also 
for how many years the allowance has been already paid 
for each Child, and how much longer such Child will be 
entitled by Rule to receive the allowance. In stating the 
ages, the additional quarters, if any, should be added to the 
number of years specified in the amount. 

2. That every Chairman is further required to obtain, at 
the Annual Meeting of his District, and cause to be in- 
serted in its Minutes, a List, containing the probable num- 
ber of Children for whom each Preacher then stationed in 
his District will have to claim the allowance for the follow- 
ing year ; and to produce such List, in the Committee of 
the Children's Fund, on the day before the Meeting of the 
Conference, in order to assist the said Committee in making 
the necessary calculations and allotments for the year en- 
suing. 1820. 



80 CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 

XXII. The Conference directs ; 

1 . That there shall be a regular observance of the Quar- 
terly Fasts in all our Circuits, as appointed by Mr. Wesley; 
which are, the first Fridays after Michaelmas-day, Christ- 
mas-day, Lady-day, and Midsummer-day ; on which oc- 
casions, Public Prayer-Meetings shall be held in all our 
Chapels, at those hours which may be deemed most conve- 
nient for the attendance of our people. At the Annual 
District-Meetings, the Chairmen are directed to make par- 
ticular inquiries concerning the conduct of the Brethren, 
in reference to this regulation. 

2, That the "Twelve Rules of a Helper," and the results 
of the conversation on carrying on the Work of God, in- 
serted in the Minutes of 1820, [see. No. XX.] shall be an- 
nually read by the Chairmen in every District-Meeting, 
and proper time allowed for examination, and for useful 
conversation, on the several subjects to which they refer. 
1821. 

XXIII. The Conference directs, That when any Preacher 
has been recommended to travel, and admitted on the List 
of Reserve, but not called out into the work in the course 
of the year, an inquiry shall be made of the Superinten- 
dent of the Circuit where he resides, at the ensuing Dis- 
trict-Meeting, whether he be still deemed a proper person 
to be employed in our regular Ministry, and that the result 
shall be reported in the District-Minutes. 1821. 

XXIV. The Conference directs, That, in future, all the 
Preachers who are recommended by their respective Dis- 
trict-Meetings to be admitted into full connexion, shall be 
required to attend the Conference of that year, to undergo 
the usual examinations ; and, if approved, to be publicly 
set apart, without delay, to the Christian Ministry. 1821. 

XXV. The Representatives of Districts are required to 
bring, or send, in time for the Meeting of the Committee of 
the Auxiliary Fund, perfect copies of the District-Minutes. 
And it will also be necessary, that every Representative 
should apply to the Superintendents of all the Circuits 
which he represents, for an account of the numbers in 
Society, as taken at the Midsummer visitation ; and should 
bring that account when he comes to the Stationing Com- 
mittee, in order that the numbers may be ascertained be- 
fore the Meeting of the Committee for stationing the chil- 
dren. 1821. 

XXVI. Respecting the Yearly Collection .- — 

1. If, in any District, the sum received for the Yearly 
Collection be found insufficient to complete the payments 
due to the Circuits for the second instalments of their re- 
spective allowances, the Chairman of that District shall 



CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 81 

immediately transmit to the Treasurer of the Contingent 
Fund an exact account of what has been already paid in 
port, and of the total sum still wanted to make up the 
second instalments ; which sum the Treasurer shall, with 
as little delay as possible, remit to the Chairman, for his 
distribution among the deficient Circuits, on a plan similar 
to that which is directed, in reference to the first instal- 
ments. 

2. If, on the other hand, the sum received in any Dis- 
trict, for the Yearly collection, shall be more than sufficient 
to pay the second instalment of one-third to the deficient 
Circuits included in such District, the Chairman is re- 
quired to remit to the Treasurer of the Contingent Fund, 
within one week after the conclusion of his District-Meeting 
in May, the whole surplus of Yearly Collection remaining in 
his hands, after such payment has been completed; toge- 
ther with a full and distinct statement of the collections 
received, the sums paid out of them to the Circuits, and 
the amount transmitted as the surplus to the Treasurer. 

N.B. A strict attention to this Rule, respecting the pay- 
ment of only one-third of the whole annual grant, out of their 
own Yearly Collection, at the time of the May District Meet- 
ing, and the immediate remittance of the whole halance of that 
collection to the Treasurer, is one of great importance ; be- 
cause, otherwise, the Treasurer will not have the means of 
paying, in proper time, to those Districts, the amount of 
whose Yearly Collection is comparatively small, the defi- 
ciencies of their second instalments, as directed by the 
preceding article ; and because, if more than one-third of 
its whole Grant for the year be detained, out of its Yearly 
Collection, by any District, for the purpose of immediately 
paying to a few Circuits their whole allowance, many Cir- 
cuits, in Districts differently circumstanced, would be 
thereby deprived of their fair share of the temporary ac- 
commodation, which this plan is designed to provide for 
all who need it. 1821. 

XXVII. The District-Meetings shall inquire into the 
Rates for which the Seats in the Chapels are let, and shall 
be satisfied that such rates are fair and equitable, before 
they recommend any case to the consideration of the Com- 
mittee. They shall also further inquire, whether the Seat- 
Rents are regularly collected, or are suffered to run into 
arrears. 1821. 

XXVIII. The Chairman of every District shall be re- 
quired to see that all the Regulations respecting the ma- 
nagement of the Children s Fandj which are detailed in the 
Minutes of 1819 and 1820, be fully carried into effect in 
the District under his charge ; and that he shall be held 

e 2 



82 CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 

individually responsible for the insertion, in his District- 
Minutes,- of the proper Lists, described in the Answer to 
the Questions concerning the Children's Fund, in the Mi- 
nutes of 1820, [see No. XXL] and for the timely transmis- 
sion of them to the Committee of this Fund, at their 
Meeting before the Conference. 1821. 

XXIX. The Chairmen of Districts, and the Treasurer of 
the Contingent Fund, as far as it belongs to their depart- 
ments respectively, are directed to take particular care, 
before any allowances out of that Fund are voted or paid to 
deficient Circuits, that the full quotas of contribution, owing 
from such Circuits to the Children's Fund, for the current 
year, shall be duly secured, according to an Article con- 
tained in the Regulations concerning that Fund in the 
Minutes of 1820. 1821. [See Children's Fund, No. III. 8.] 

XXX. No new Cases of Chapels soliciting aid shall be 
admitted, unless the Deeds be produced at the District- 
Meetings, in order to ascertain that the Chapels are pro- 
perly secured to the Connexion. 1822. 

XXXI. In order to expedite the business of the Chapel 
Fund Committee in future years, it is resolved : — 

1. That instead of District-Schedules, all the Circuit- 
Schedules of Chapels, for which assistance is requested, 
shall be forwarded by the Chairman of every District, to 
the General Treasurers in London, by the first day of July. 

2. The Amount of Subscriptions and Collections re- 
ceived for this Fund in each Circuit, shall be reported by 
the Superintendents at every Annual District-Meeting ; 
and where any declension or gross deficiency shall appear, 
the Chairman shall make strict inquiry into the cause. 

3. With a view to prevent unnecessary claims on the 
Fund, a minute and careful examination of those Cases, 
whose annual deficiency, estimated according to the exist- 
ing Regulations, does not amount to Five Pounds, shall be 
made rn all the District-Meetings, and a distinct report 
shall be made concerning them to the Committee, at their 
next Meeting. 1824. 

XXXII. Q. Are any additional Directions necessary re- 
specting the Marriage of our Preachers ? 

A. 1. It is the solemn judgment of the Conference, 
That it is very highly inexpedient and dangerous for a 
Methodist Preacher to marry a person who, though truly 
pious, does not give at least that degree of public proof of 
cordial agreement with us, in doctrine and discipline, which 
is implied in being a Member of our Society. The only ex- 
ception to this Rule must be found in some very extra- 
ordinary cases, where the inclination to unite with us in 
Christian communion may have been controlled by the 



CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 83 

want of opportunity, or other unavoidable circumstances. 
Where this cannot be pleaded, the Conference deem the 
marriage of a Preacher with a female not belonging - to our 
Society, to be an instance of culpable imprudence, perilous 
to the comfort and usefulness of the Preacher himself, and 
likely, if not discountenanced, to be greatly injurious to 
the spiritual interests of our people. 

2. We require the Chairmen of our Districts to examine, 
in the case of every Preacher who has married during the 
year, whether the Fourth of the " Rules of a Helper," has 
been obeyed, which says, "Take no step towards marriage 
without first consulting with your Brethren ;" and to re- 
port to the Conference any case in which that important 
direction shall appear to have been violated. This Rule 
shall be considered as requiring, in particular, consultation 
with the Superintendent j — not excluding, however, the 
other ministerial Colleagues of the party concerned. 

3. Our Rule, printed in 1805, is also confirmed, and shall 
be re-published in our Minutes ; viz. — 

" When any Preacher has married in the course of the 
year, let the ensuing District-Meeting carefully inquire, 
whether he have complied with the Apostolical injunction, 
binding on all Christians, but more especially on all Chris- 
tian Ministers, to marry only in the Lord .- and if there be 
reason to believe the contrary, let the Chairman report the 
same to the Conference." 1824. 

XXXIII. Q. What additional* Regulations are judged 
proper, in respect to Preachers received on Trial ? 

A. No person shall in future be deemed eligible for exa- 
mination at any District-Meeting, as a Candidate for recep- 
tion even on Trial into our Itinerancy, unless his Super- 
intendent be able to certify on his behalf, that he has pre- 
viously read with care our standard doctrinal works, viz., 
Mr. Wesley's Notes on the New Testament, and his first 
Four Volumes of Sermons. 1825. 

XXXIV. Q. What can we further do to promote the 
prosperity and permanency of the Work of God in our 
Societies ? 

A. 1. In addition to the zealous and faithful preaching 
of the Gospel in all our congregations, and wherever we 
can obtain access for that purpose, — we once more earnestly 
exhort our Preachers firmly, vigilantly, and affectionately, 
to enforce, in all our Societies, every part of our discipline. 
We particularly require that two of the Lessons for the 
day, taken from the Holy Scriptures, shall be constantly 
read, at least once in every Sabbath, wherever we preach ; 
that the Societies shall be frequently met, apart from the 
congregation at large, and suitably addressed on the various 



84 CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 

relative duties, on the due sanctification of the Sabbath, 
and other appropriate topics ; and that when the Lord's 
Supper is administered, the communicants shall be pre- 
viously required to produce their Society-Tickets, or Notes 
of Admission, according to our established Rules. 

2. The Chairmen of Districts are enjoined to make par- 
ticular inquiries at their Annual Meetings in reference to 
all the points specified in the preceding Minute. 1825. 

XXXV. Duplicates of the Schedules of all Chapels which 
have received assistance shall be annually sent to the Chair- 
men of the Districts, in order to assist them in their in- 
quiries into cases for which relief is requested ; and that 
those Duplicates shall be preserved from year to year in 
every District, in a book prepared for the purpose, so as to 
afford the means of convenient reference. 1825. 

XXXVI. At every District-Meeting, in the month of 
May, on the day in which the Circuit-Stewards are in at- 
tendance, during the transaction of the financial business 
of the District, the Chairman is directed to inquire parti- 
cularly into the amount of the Subscriptions and Collec- 
tions raised for the School Fund in each Circuit, and to 
compare them with the lists of the preceding year. "Where 
any material deficiency, or want of due exertion, shall ap- 
pear, the case shall be specially reported in the District- 
Minutes, and brought by the Chairman before the ensuing 
Conference. 

N. B. Each Chairman shall extract from his District- 
Minutes every thing which relates to the School Fund, 
which extract he shall send to the Treasurer prior to the 
24th of June. And further, every Superintendent shall pay 
to the Chairman of his District, at the time of the Annual 
District-Meeting, at latest, all additional Subscriptions or 
Collections which he may have received after the 15th of 
November. 1826. 

XXXVII. The Conference direct : — 

1. That the Rule made in 1824, be confirmed, which re- 
quires the Chairman to make strict inquiry, in every Annual 
District-Meeting, what has been the amount of Subscrip- 
tions and Collections for the Chapel Fund in each Circuit. 
[See No. XXXI.] 

2. The Superintendents of Circuits, and Chairmen of Dis- 
tricts, are required, before they sanction any application 
for the relief of distressed Chapels, to inquire whether the 
said Chapels, cr any part of the Trust-premises, be occu- 
pied as a Sunday School, and if so, whether a fair and rea- 
sonable rent be paid to the Trustees in consideration of 
such occupation. 1826. 

XXXVIII. The Chairmen of Districts are required to 



CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 85 

send to the Treasurer of the Auxiliary Fund, such parts of 
the Minutes of the District-Meetings as relate to the Auxi- 
liary Fund, immediately after the Meeting of their Districts ; 
in order that he may have sufficient time, before he leaves 
his Circuit, to attend the Conference, to arrange and pre- 
pare the cases recommended to the consideration of the 
Committee of eleven. 1826. 

XXXIX. It is again required, That the Minutes contain- 
ing the result of our consultations at Liverpool in 1820, on 
the means of reviving and promoting the work of God in 
our Connexion, [see No. XX.] shall he read at full length 
in every Annual District-Meeting, and made the occasion of 
suitable inquiries, conversation, and prayer. 1826. 

XL. It is peremptorily required that, in order to bring 
the state and progress of the Work of God in every Cir- 
cuit, distinctly and regularly under the examination of the 
District-Meetings, the Circuit Schedules, duly filled up, shall 
be annually produced, read, and considered. The Chair- 
men of Districts are made responsible for the execution of 
this order ; and shall bring the Circuit Schedules with them 
to the Conference, that they may be forthcoming, if called 
for. 1826. 

XLI. Q. Can any additional securities be provided in 
reference to the character, qualfi cations, and scriptural 
orthodoxy of persons proposed as candidates for our Mi- 
nistry ? 

A. 1. The Chairmen of Districts are again required [see 
No. XL] not only to examine very minutely, in their Dis- 
trict-Meetings, all persons proposed to travel as Preachers 
among us, but also to report distinctly in their District 
Minutes, for the consideration of the Conference, the 
opinion of the District-Meeting, after such examination, 
respecting their health, piety, moral character, ministerial 
abilities, knowledge and belief of our doctrines, attachment 
to our discipline, and freedom from debt, as well as from all 
secular encumbrances. In the same District-Minutes, the 
Preacher who recommends any candidate shall state his 
age, and sign a recommendatory character of him, which 
may forthwith be copied, if the Conference receive such 
candidate upon trial, into the book provided for that pur- 
pose. 

2. In order more effectually to guard against the intro- 
duction of improper persons into the ministry amongst us, 
it is agreed that when any offer themselves for our Itinerancy, 
who have not resided two years at the least in the Circuits 
from which they are recommended, very particular and 
strict inquiries as to their characters and qualifications shall 
be addressed by the Preacher who intends to propose them 



86 CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 

to the District-Meeting, to the Superintendents of those 
Circuits from which they have recently removed, and in 
which it is presumed they are best known, and the result 
of such inquiries shall be communicated to the meeting. 

3. The Conference resolve, That it is the acknowledged 
right, and, under existing circumstances, the indispensable 
duty, of every Chairman of a District, to ask all candidates 
for admission upon trial amongst us, if they believe the 
doctrine of the Eternal Sonship of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
as it is stated by Mr. Wesley, especially in his Notes upon 
the First Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, to be 
agreeable to the Holy Scriptures ; and, That it is also the 
acknowledged right, and, under existing circumstances, the 
indispensable duty, of the President of the Conference for 
the time being, to examine particularly upon that doctrine 
every Preacher proposed to be admitted into Full Con- 
nexion, and to require an explicit and unreserved declara- 
tion of his assent to it, as a truth revealed in the inspired 
oracles. 1827. 

XLII. Q. What further arrangement can be made to 
facilitate the business of our annual Conferences ? 

A. 1. The Chairman of Districts shall be required in 
future to collect from all the Superintendents of Circuits 
in their respective Districts, whether those Superintendents 
be present at the Conference or remain in their Circuits, 
the monies due from them on account of the collections 
and subscriptions made in their several Circuits for the 
various Funds of the Connexion ; and to deliver the same 
in one sum, with the proper account of the particular items, 
to the Treasurers of those Funds respectively, at the times 
specified in the succeeding article of this Minute. 

2. For this purpose, the Treasurers and ihe Secretaries 
of each Fund are directed to attend, in rooms to be ap- 
pointed for that use, on the first, second, third, and fourth 
evenings of each Conference ; so that the business of re- 
ceiving collections may be transacted during the intervals 
of the public business of the Conference, and not during 
its actual sittings. 

3. Similar arrangements shall be made by all the Trea- 
surers of our Funds for the payment of monies due at the 
time of the Conference, by meeting the Chairmen of Dis- 
tricts in regular order in the evenings, and then settling 
with them the accounts of the several Circuits which they 
represent ; so that this portion also of our financial busi- 
ness may be transacted out of the Conference, and no longer 
disturb or interrupt its regular proceedings. 

4. The< Superintendents of Circuits are peremptorily re- 
quired to supply their respective Chairmen with their col- 



CHAIRMEN OF DISTRICTS. 87 

lections and accounts on or before the first day of the 
meeting of every Conference, so as to enable them to con- 
form to the preceding regulations. And the Chairmen are 
required to report without fail to the Conference, on the 
second day of its annual session, every Superintendent 
who shall have neglected this part of his official duty. 182/. 

XLIII. Q. Can any better method be adopted for re- 
ceiving an accurate annual return of the number of mem- 
bers in our societies ? 

A. 1 . The Superintendents are directed to return, in their 
Quarterly Schedules, the precise number, without any 
abridgment or deduction, of those to whom, after due and 
sufficient probation, they or their colleagues have actually 
given tickets in their respective Circuits. 

2. The Circuit Schedules for the preceding June, Sep- 
tember, December, and March quarters, shall be carefully 
examined by the Chairman at every District-Meeting in 
May; and the whole number, without alteration, of those 
who appear to have received Society-Tickets at the March 
visitation of the Classes, shall be entered in the District- 
Minutes, in connexion to the Circuits to which they belong, 
and reported by the Chairman at the ensuing Conference 
to the persons appointed for that purpose. 1831. 

XLIV. Q. Can any thing be done to facilitate the per- 
formance of the Financial work of the Connexion ? 

A. It is agreed that a Financial Secretary shall be ap- 
pointed to each District, whose office it shall be to transact 
with the General Treasurers of our various funds all the 
Financial business of the District to which he belongs. 
1831. 



88 



III. SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 

I. The Superintendent shall regularly meet the Local 
Preachers once a quarter, and no person shall receive a 
Plan as a Local Preacher, nor be suffered to preach among 
us as such, without the approbation of that Meeting. Or, 
if in any Circuit a regular Local Preachers' Meeting can- 
not be held, they shall be proposed and approved at. the 
General Quarterly-Meeting of the Circuit. 1794. 

II. Q. What directions shall be given concerning the 
keeping of the Lord's-day holy ? 

A. We are afraid that some of our people are not suf- 
ficiently attentive to this Ordinance of God. We therefore 
strongly recommend the religious observance of that sacred 
day ; and desire the Superintendents to exclude every per- 
son from the Society, who buys or sells on the Lord's-day, 
unless the sin be acknowledged and forsaken; except in 
the cases of medicine for the sick, or of supplying neces- 
saries for funerals. 1795. 

III. Q. What is allowed for the education of the 
Daughters of the Preachers ? 

A. No Daughter shall receive any thing from the [School] 
Collection till she is nine years old. She shall then have 
Eight Guineas a-year for four years. 1796. 

[Daughters now receive Eight Guineas a-year, from eight 
years of age, till they are fourteen.] 

IV. Q. Have the Regulations respecting the Sacrament 
been strictly attended to ? 

A. We have had some complaints on both sides. To 
remedy which in future, the Conference agree, 

1. That those Societies which have the Sacrament al- 
lowed according to the Rules of Pacification, shall have it 
duly administered ; and that if the Superintendent will not 
administer it himself, he shall provide some other Preacher, 
who is properly qualified, to do it : so that the people may 
not be deprived of their privilege. 

2. That every Preacher shall attend, with the utmost 
exactness, to that Rule in the Pacific Plan, which states, 
That no Preacher shall, directly or indirectly, endeavour 
to excite any Society to desire to have the Lord's Supper. 
Nor, on the other hand, strive to set any Society against 
that blessed Ordinance ; but leave the people every where 
entirely free. 1796. 

V. As enjoined in the Large Minutes, — 1. Let us preach 
expressly, now and then, on Sabbath-breaking, evil-speak- 
ing, unprofitable conversation, lightness, expensiveness, or 
gaiety of apparel, and contracting debts without due care 






SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 89 

to discharge them. 2. Read in every Society the Sermon 
on evil-speaking. 3. Let the Leaders closely examine and 
exhort every person to put away the accursed thing. 4. 
Let the Preachers warn every Society, that none who is 
guilty herein can remain with us. 1796. 

VI. Before any Superintendent propose a Preacher to 
the Conference, as proper to be admitted on trial, such. 
Preacher must not only be approved of at the March Quar- 
terly-Meeting, but must have read and signed the General 
Minutes, as fully approving of them. Nor must any one 
suppose, or pretend to think, that the Conversations which 
have been on any of these Minutes, were intended so to 
qualify them, as in the least to affect the spirit and design 
of them. 1797. 

VII. The Conference recommends it to the Superin- 
tendents of the Circuits, to invite, on all important occa- 
sions, the Chairman of their respective District, to be 
present at their Quarterly-Meetings. 1797. 

VIII. Q. Can any thing more be done to guard against 
improper Preachers getting admittance into our Con- 
nexion ? 

A. In the examination of the Candidates, let each be 
required to answer any question the President may ask 
him, respecting the Doctrines contained in the Eight 
Volumes of Sermons, which Mr. Wesley left in his Will to 
the Preachers. Every Superintendent is to take care that 
the Preachers on trial have the Eight Volumes to read. 
And every one, when received into full connexion, shall 
have the Eight Volumes given to him as a present from the 
Book-Room. 1798. 

[A ninth Volume has since been published, and is added 
to the above gift.] 

IX. Q. Do we sufficiently explain and enforce practical 
religion, and attend to the preservation of order and regu- 
larity, in our Meetings for prayer, and other acts of divine 
worship ? 

A. Perhaps not. We fear there has sometimes been 
irregularity in some of the Meetings. And we think that 
some of our hearers are in danger of mistaking emotions 
of the affections for experimental and practical god- 
liness. To remedy or prevent, as far as possible, these 
errors, let Mr. Wesley's Extract of Mr. Edward's Pamphlet 
on Religious Affections be circulated among our people. 
1800. 

X. Q. Are the Preachers' houses sufficiently provided 
with Books ; and, in particular, with Commentaries on the 
Bible? r 

A. We think not. And we recommend to the Super- 



90 SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS, 

intend ents of the Circuits, to speak to the Members of the 
Quarterly and Leaders'-Meetings on the subject, that such 
books may be provided for the Preachers, as soon as possi- 
ble, particularly Dr. Coke's Commentary. 1800. 

XI. Q. Have not some Local Preachers been injured, 
by being encouraged to expect they should be called out to 
travel, without sufficient reason ? 

A. This has been the case in a few instances. And that 
it may not be the case any more, let no Preacher, or num- 
ber of Preachers, encourage any person to give up his busi- 
ness, and prepare to travel, without the authority of Con- 
ference. 1800. 

XII. Q. Can any amendment be made in our temporal 
affairs ? 

A. 1. Let no Preacher, Steward, or Leader, on any ac- 
count, send for our President or Secretary, without bearing 
his expenses. 

2. No bill for letters shall be brought to the Conference. 
Let every Superintendent inform his Brethren, that they 
are to pay for all the letters they write on public business. 
1800. 

XIII. Every Superintendent is to propose, as soon as 
possible, to the Quarterly-Meeting, any Local Preacher 
who is qualified for, and willing to go on a Foreign Mis- 
sion ; that he may be afterwards proposed to the District- 
Committee, and lastly to the Conference. 1800. 

XIV. We hope that the Members of our Societies, and 
our other friends, will not purchase any of our books which 
are not printed for our Book-Room, and disposed of by our 
Preachers, when it is considered that the profits of our 
books are wholly applied to the carrying on of the work of 
God : and we desire the Superintendents to caution all our 
friends on this head. 1801. 

XV. The Supernumerary and Superannuated Preachers 
are, each of them, to have a Volume of the large Collection 
of Minutes presented to them by the Superintendents of 
their respective Circuits. 1803. 

XVI. Q. What directions shall be given in respect to 
the deaths of the members of our Society ? 

A. I. A register shall be kept in each Circuit, in which 
all the deaths of the members of our Society shall be re- 
gistered. 

2. An account of the number of deaths in each Circuit 
respectively, shall be annually sent to London, and inserted 
in the January Magazine. 

3. The circumstances of all remarkable deaths shall be 
drawn up at large, and sent to the Editor of our Magazine, 
who may publish them as far as he judges proper. 1803. 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 91 

XVII. Q. What directions shall be given in respect to 
Stewards ? 

A. Let the Rule, which existed for many years before 
the death of Mr. Wesley, concerning the change of 
Stewards, be sacredly enforced; and let a new election of 
the Stewards annually take place ; and one Steward, at 
least, be annually changed. 1804. 

XVIII. Q. What directions shall be given in respect to 
those Preachers to be received on trial, who have not been 
examined by the District-Committee ? 

A. They shall be examined respectively by the three 
nearest Superintendents. 1804. 

XIX. Q. How shall we further enforce the observance of 
the Lord's-day ? 

A. Let all the Rules which have been made for the ob- 
servance of the Lord's-day be strictly enforced ; and let 
no books be sold at any of our Chapels on any account on 
that day : and let all the Preachers press upon the people 
in their Sermons and Exhortations, the dreadful conse 
quences of profaning that Holy day. 1804. 

XX. Q. Are we all sufficiently careful in meeting the 
Societies after preaching, especially in country places ? 

A. We fear not : and as we judge this to be of great 
importance, we earnestly recommend that it be strictly at- 
tended to. And we likewise advise that no Society-Meet- 
ing, open to Strangers, be held oftener than once a Month. 
1805. 

XXI. Q. Has sufficient care been taken, with respect to 
the admission of proper persons only, to the Lord's Sup- 
per, where it is administered in our Chapels ? 

A. We fear not always ; and therefore we here repeat 
our former Rule of 1796, on this subject, and require that 
it be strictly enforced, viz. " No person shall be suffered 
on any pretence, to partake of the Lord's Supper among 
us, unless he be a member of our Society, or receive a 
Note of admission from the Superintendent, which Note 
must be renewed Quarterly. And if any Leader, Steward, 
or Trustee refuse to be regulated by this Rule, the Sa- 
crament shall not be administered where this is the case." 
1805. 

XXII. Q. Can any step be taken in aid of the general 
Fund for the support of Kingswood School, and the educa- 
tion of the Preachers' Children ? 

A. Let the Preachers, in making the annual Collection, 
state to the congregations the great increase of the Chil- 
dren, both Sons and Daughters, that are dependant upon 
it for their education, as well as the high price of most 
articles of provision. 1805. 



92 SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 

XXIII. Q. One of the standing Rules of our Societies, 
expressly prohibits " the buying or selling uncustomed 
goods." How may this Rule be more fully enforced ? 

A. Let our old Minute on this subject be executed with 
respect to every species of Smuggling. It is as follows : 
viz. Q. How shall we put a stop to Smuggling? A. 1. 
Speak tenderly and frequently of it in every Society near 
the Coasts. 2. Carefully disperse Mr. Wesley's Word to a 
Smuggler. 3. Expel all those who will not leave it off. 
Silence every Local Preacher who defends it. 1806. 

XXIV. Q. It is stated, that some of the Brethren have 
neglected to enforce Band-Meetings ; and that, what are 
called Fellowship-Meetings have been set up in their place. 
Can this be permitted ? 

A. By no means. We require all our Superintendents 
to restore the proper Methodist-Meetings, wherever they 
have been superseded or neglected : and not to suffer any 
person to be admitted into them, without a Note or a 
Ticket from a Travelling Preacher: and we determine that 
no Love-Feast nor Band-Meetings shall be held without 
the approbation of the Superintendent. 1806. 

XXV. Q. Is any advice necessary respecting the Lord's 
Supper ? 

A. 1. We once more earnestly beseech all the members 
of our Societies, conscientiously to attend this sacred Ordi- 
nance of God our Saviour at every opportunity ; and do 
entreat them to approach the Lord's Table at least once in 
every month, either in our own Chapels or elsewhere ; and to 
make a point of staying till the whole service be concluded. 

2. In the visitation of the Classes, let every Preacher 
closely examine the members on this head, and strongly 
enforce our Rules concerning it. And, in order to remove 
every excuse, let this blessed Sacrament be regularly and 
frequently administered wherever it has been appointed by 
the Conference. 1806. 

XXVI. Q. It appears that, in a few Quarterly-Meetings, 
the Superintendent and the other Travelling Preachers 
have been desired to withdraw on certain occasions. What 
is the judgment of the Conference on this point? 

A. We judge, that if the Superintendent of a Circuit, or 
any of his Colleagues, be obliged to withdraw from a 
Quarterly-Meeting during its sittings, the Meeting will be 
thereby dissolved : and we will receive no letters nor in- 
formation from such Meeting on any account. And if any 
Superintendent or other Travelling Preacher do willingly 
submit to any such requisition, so as to withdraw from any 
such Meeting before its conclusion, he shall, on proof, re- 
ceive due censure at the ensuing Conference. 1806. 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 93 

XXVII. Q. It is said, that in some Leaders'-Meetings, 
votes have been taken in given instances, Whether the 
fixed and established Rules of Methodism, as printed in 
our General Minutes, should be executed or not ? What 
shall be done to prevent this evil in future ? 

A. All our Rules are equally binding on both the Preach- 
ers and the People : and, therefore, every Superintendent, 
who permits a vote to be taken on the execution or rejec- 
tion of them, shall, on proof at the ensuing Conference, 
be deprived of the office of Superintendent. 1806. 

XXVIII. The Conference renews its former order, that 
no recommendatory letters, nor countenance of any kind, 
shall be given by the Preachers to persons who attempt to 
raise, among our people, private and unauthorised Collec- 
tions for Chapels. 1807- 

XXIX. Q. Have our people been sufficiently cautious 
respecting the permission of Strangers to preach to our 
Congregations ? 

A. We fear not ; and we therefore again direct, that no 
Stranger, from America or elsewhere, be suffered to preach 
in any of our places, unless he come fully accredited ; if 
an Itinerant Preacher, by having his name entered on the 
Minutes of the Conference of which he is a member : and 
if a Local Preacher, by a recommendatory note from his 
Superintendent. 1807. 

XXX. Q. As it has been suggested, that our Rule re- 
specting the exclusion of Barbers, who shave or dress 
their customers on the Lord's-day, is not sufficiently ex- 
plicit and positive, what is the decision of the Conference 
on this important point ? 

A. Let it be fully understood, that no such person is to 
be suffered to remain in any of our Societies. We charge 
all our Superintendents to execute this Rule, in every 
place, without partiality and without delay. 1807. 

XXXI. Q. What additional Resolution can be passed, 
in order to preserve our Societies from heresies and erro- 
neous doctrines ? 

A. No person shall, on any account, be permitted to re- 
tain any official situation in our Societies, who holds 
opinions contrary to the total depravity of human nature, 
the Divinity and Atonement of Christ, the Influence and 
Witness of the Holy Spirit, and Christian Holiness, as 
believed by the Methodists. 1807. 

XXXII. Q. What can we do for the spiritual benefit of 
the Children of our people ? 

A. Let the good old custom of holding a Children's- 
Meeting once a week be revived in every Town, and 
wherever else it shall be found practicable ; and let all the 



94 SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 

Preachers turn their serious attention to this important 
subject. We also recommend, that the Instructions for 
Children, should be used in every Methodist family. 1808. 

XXXIII. Q. It is stated that various persons, some of 
them foreigners, have made Collections in our Chapels, 
without the sanction of the Conference. "What can be 
done to prevent this in future ? 

A. We direct our Superintendents to hinder all such 
Collections as far as possible ; and we advise our people to 
withhold their Subscriptions from all persons who have not 
applied for and received the consent of the Conference in 
a regular way. 1808. 

XXXIV. Q. Should not all our Chapels be properly 
settled on Trustees, so that they may always be preserved 
for the very same purposes for which they are built ? 

A. Certainly they should : and we direct that all our 
Superintendents shall take immediate steps to settle the 
Chapels which are now built, if not already settled ; and 
that the Preachers shall not occupy any Chapel which may 
be built in future, until it is settled in a proper way. 

N. B. The Conference advises, that a book be provided 
in every Circuit, and that an abstract of the several Trust 
Deeds of the Chapels in that Circuit be registered in such 
book ; so that the nature of the Trust, the names of the 
Trustees, and the places where the Deeds are lodged, may 
at any time be known by the Superintendent Preachers. 
1808. 

XXXV. Q. Are any Regulations necessary respecting 
Sunday-Schools ? 

A. 1. Let all the Travelling Preachers, where Sunday- 
Schools are established, be members of the Committees of 
those Schools which belong to us ; and let the Superin- 
tendent preside in their meetings. 

2. As many of the Children as can possibly be accommo- 
dated with room, ought invariably to attend our public 
worship, at least once every Lord's-day. 1808. 

XXXVI. Q. Has not the privilege of admission to our 
Love-feasts been too commonly and promiscuously granted ? 

A. In some places this has been the case; and we there- 
fore direct that our old Rule should be uniformly enforced, 
which enacts, that no person, not willing to join our So- 
ciety, shall be admitted to a Love-feast more than once ; 
nor then, without a note from a Travelling Preacher. We 
entreat both our Preachers and our Stewards to observe this 
direction ; and let it be also understood, that any person 
who is proved to have lent a Society ticket to another, not 
in Society, for the purpose of deceiving the door-keepers, 
shall be suspended for three months. 1808. 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 95 

XXXVII. Q. Is any direction necessary respecting the 
allowances to be made to Preachers for the education of 
their Sons ? 

A. Those of our Brethren who have Sons that are not 
sent to Kingswood-School, though of the proper age, are 
authorised to receive, in future, the usual allowance for 
Children from their Circuits, in addition to the allowance 
made in such cases from the Kingswood- School Fund. 1808. 

XXXVIII. Let the whole Rule be revived and enforced, 
which directs, that in every Quarterly-Meeting the salaries 
of the Preachers' Wives, stationed on the Circuit, shall be 
Jirst paid, before any other demands be discharged. 1809. 

XXXIX. Q. What can be done to form a List of Re- 
serve, from which vacancies that may occur in the Circuits, 
by death or otherwise, may be supplied ? 

A. If the superintendents shall find in their respective 
Circuits any suitable persons, who are approved by the 
Quarterly-Meetings, and who can be recommended accord- 
ing to Rule, after being duly examined and heard by three 
Preachers who have each travelled ten years; they are 
directed to send the names and residences of such persons 
immediately to the President, with whom the List of Re- 
serve is to be, as usual, deposited. 1809- 

XL. Q. What is the proper method of accomplishing 
such new arrangements, or partial alterations of Circuits, 
as may be judged necessary for the general good ? 

A. It has been already agreed, "that no Circuit shall 
be divided, till such division has been approved by their 
respective Quarterly-Meetings." But the boundaries of 
existing Circuits may be regulated, and partial alterations 
made, without dividing them, or making any new Circuit ; 
and such arrangements the District-Meetings have autho- 
rity to make ; subject, however, to the decision of the Con- 
ference, if there be any appeal against them. 1809- 

XLI. Q. Has our Rule, which directs that notes of re- 
commendation* shall be given by the Preachers to persons 
who remove from one Circuit to another, been sufficiently 
attended to ? 

A. We fear not : and our Brethren are requested to ob- 
serve it strictly in future. Printed notes, ready to be filled 
Up, may be had by the Superintendents on application to 
the Book-Steward. 1809. 

XLII. Q. Has our discipline been sufficiently enforced ? 

A. In some places, and in some particulars, we find it 
has not. Tickets have been given to certain persons who 
have entirely given up Class-Meeting ; and Leaders have 

* This practice was first adopted by the Conference in 1766. 



96 SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 

given Notes of admission by their own authority. Let our 
Superintendents take care to put an end to these irregula- 
rities ; and let them also require all our Leaders regularly 
to attend their respective Leaders'-Meetings. 1810. 

XLIII. Q. Can any thing be done, in order more 
effectually to promote family religion among our people ? 

A. 1. We again earnestly enforce upon all the people 
under our care a conscientious and uniform attention to 
this important subject, and solemnly exhort them to main- 
tain the practice of daily prayer in their houses ; to have 
stated times allotted for this purpose ; to fix their morning 
worship, for instance, just before breakfast, and their even- 
ing worship just before supper ; to make the daily reading 
of the Holy Scriptures a constant part of their domestic de- 
votion ; to require not only some but all the members of 
their respective families to be present, at the time of family 
worship ; and to allow of no excuses, except in case of 
sickness, or other unavoidable emergencies ; and, once at 
least in every week, to catechise their children and servants, 
and converse with them individually on the business of 
religion. 

2. We require all our Preachers to make particular in- 
quiries into the state of family-religion in their Circuits ; 
to enforce the duties above-mentioned in the Leaders'- 
Meetings and in the Society-Meetings ; and to speak on 
the subject closely and strongly to every Class, in their 
Quarterly Visitations of the Societies. 1811. 

XLIV. Q. Have all the branches of our discipline been 
properly executed ? 

A. We fear not ; and therefore the Conference directs 
that every Superintendent shall take care that the Plans 
for the Local and Travelling Preachers be made by himself 
or his Colleagues ; that no person be permitted to administer 
the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, but a 
Travelling Preacher in full connexion ; that the Stewards 
be annually changed or re-elected in every Circuit ; and 
that the Chapels which are not yet settled, be speedily 
settled on the Conference Plan. 1811. 

XLV. Q. Can any thing be done to promote the holiness 
and usefulness of our Leaders of Classes ? 

A. Let a strict inquiry be made by the Superintendent 
Preacher in the Leaders'-Meeting, at least twice in the 
year, into the moral character of all the Leaders, their 
punctuality in beginning and ending their Class-Meetings 
in proper time, and every thing that relates to their office. 
1811. 

XLVI. Q. What can be done to revive and extend Band- 
Meetings ? 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 97 

A. 1. Let everySuperintendent address to the believers 
under his care, met in their respective Societies, a strong 
and appropriate exhortation on the excellency of Band- 
Meetings. 

2. Let him meet all the Leaders of the Societies, and 
form out of their Classes as many Bands as possible, from 
those believers who do not at present meet in Band, and 
who are willing so to do ; putting into each Band those 
who are most acquainted with each other. 

3. Let him afterwards receive the applications of all the 
members of the Bands with the utmost kindness and at- 
tention, so as to remove them from one Band to another, 
and to meet the desires of each, as far as possible. 

4. The Weekly Meetings, commonly called the Meetings 
of the Public Bands, shall be established and attentively 
preserved, wherever the number of those who meet in Band 
will admit of it. 

5 Love-feasts for the members of the Band-Societies 
shall be occasionally held in every place where it is prac- 
ticable. 1812. 

XLVII. Q. What plan can we adopt to meet the in- 
creased expenses of our Connexion ? 

A. 1. Let every Superintendent exert himself to the utter- 
most, in order to raise in his Circuit the sum of one shilling, 
on the average, for each member, for the Yearly Collection. 

2. Let no more than twelve pounds be allowed in future, 
from our General Funds, towards the funeral expenses of 
any Preacher. 

3-. Let the allowance granted, in certain cases, towards 
the purchase of furniture for new Preachers' houses, be 
reduced to twenty pounds. 

4. Let no Circuit be divided, nor any additional Preacher 
sent to any Circuit in future, until it has been distinctly 
proved, first, That there will be sufficient employment for 
all the Preachers who are sent; and, secondly, That the 
expenses resulting from such an enlargement of the work, 
can be provided by the Circuits concerned. 

5. Let it be seriously inquired, whether several Circuits 
which have hitherto had single Preachers appointed for 
them, ought not immediately to make provision for an ad- 
ditional married Preacher and his family. 

6. We once more recommend most earnestly to all our 
Societies, a strict compliance with that original Rule which 
Mr. Wesley established at the first institution of Methodism; 
and which requires that, upon an average, each member 
shall pay, for the support of the work, one penny per week 
in the Classes ; and one shilling per quarter, in addition to 
the weekly contribution, at each renewal of the Tickets. 

F 



yb SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 

And that this important part of our financial economy may- 
be more fully known and observed, let our old Rules on 
the subject be re-printed in every future edition of the So- 
ciety-Rules. 1812. 

XLVIII. The Superintendents shall recommend to the 
Stewards of the Societies or the Trustees of the Chapels, to 
provide for each Chapel, a copy of Mr. Benson's Bible, to 
be carefully kept in the Vestries, in the Preachers' houses, 
or in the houses of the friends who receive the Preachers, 
for the use of the Travelling and Local Preachers, who 
officiate in the said Chapels. 1812. 

XLIX. Q. Are any admonitions necessary respecting our 
discipline ? 

A. 1. Let our Preachers meet the Societies every Lord's 
Day, if possible, wherever they preach. 

2. Let them be careful to see, that the Members shew 
their Tickets regularly before their admission either to 
Love-feasts, Society-meetings, or Sacramental services. 

3. Let the numbers of those who meet in Band in each 
Circuit be annually returned to the Conference by the Su- 
perintendents. 1813. 

L. Q. What directions are necessary respecting our 
Schools at Kingswood and Woodhouse-Grove ? 

A. The Annual Public Collection shall be made, as 
usual, in the month of October ; but, previously to that 
Collection, the Preachers shall apply in private to such of 
our Members and Friends, as are likely to become Annual 
Subscribers, and the names of such Subscribers shall be 
published. 1813. 

LI. The Preachers are permitted to receive the usual 
and regular allowances for their Children, from their Cir- 
cuits, or from the Contingent Fund, until they attain the 
age of twenty years ; unless, by marriage or otherwise, they 
shall at an early period become independent of their parents 
in point of pecuniary support. 1814. 

ill. It is agreed, That all claims on the Contingent 
Fund for travelling expenses, shall first pass through a 
Quarterly-Meeting, and be signed by the Circuit Steward, 
as approved, before they are proposed to the District-Meet- 
ing, or to the Conference. 1815. 

LIII. Every Superintendent, in whose Circuit any 
Claimant on the Auxiliary Fund may reside, is required to 
lay the whole case of such Claimant before the District- 
Meeting of which he is a member ; the particulars of 
which shall be entered upon the District-Minutes for the 
direction of the Committee of Eleven. 1815. 

N. B. The Superintendents are to bring with them to 
Conference, an accurate list of the Subscribers in their 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 99 

respective Circuits, alphabetically arranged, and to deliver 
it, with their monies, to the Clerk of the said Fund. 

LIV. Q. What Regulation is necessary respecting Public 
Collections ? 

A. We direct our Superintendents to be punctual in 
making the General Collections, which are requisite for the 
support of the work at large, at those times of the year at 
which they are regularly appointed to be made : and we 
entreat our Friends so to arrange the times of their various 
Local Collections, as not to interfere with measures 
which are essential to the very existence of Methodism. 
1815. 

LV. Those Preachers on trial, who do not already possess 
Mr. Wesley's Works, are required to procure them, during 
the period of their probation ; and shall be allowed to pay 
for them to our Book-Steward, if they desire it, by such 
instalments as may best suit their convenience. 1815. 

LVI. We recommend to all our Preachers, Mr. Ben- 
son's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures; and we direct 
our Book-Steward to allow those Preachers who shall choose 
it, to purchase that Commentary for their own use, at one 
half of the selling price. 1815. — Let the Travelling 
Preachers be allowed to have Mr. Benson's Commentary 
on the New Testament, for their own use, at the price of 
Four Shillings for each Part. 1816. 

LVII. Every Superintendent shall transmit annually 
to the Book- Steward, in detail, the account of Stock on 
hand in his Circuit. 1816. 

LVIII. Q. What is our Rule respecting Preachers ex- 
cluded from our Body for immorality ? 

A. No such Preacher shall at any subsequent period be 
allowed to be a Local Preacher, Class-Leader, or even a 
Private Member of Society, without the consent of the 
Conference previously obtained. 1817. 

LIX. Every Superintendent is required earnestly to in- 
vite and urge the attendance and assistance of the Circuit- 
Stewards at the District-Meeting, according to our Rule, 
during the time when the financial affairs of the District, 
to which they belong, are under consideration. And, in 
order to facilitate this object, let it be understood and 
announced, that the financial business of the District shall 
in future always commence at ten o'clock in the forenoon 
of the second day of every District-Meeting. 1817. 

LX. As a considerable augmentation of the Yearly Sub- 
scription made in the Classes, in aid of the poorer Circuits, 
is deemed practicable, if the urgency and importance of the 
case were fully known to our People at large, it is agreed, 
That a Letter, explaining the purposes and beneficial re r 



100 SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 

suits of the Yearly Subscription, shall be drawn up, and a 
copy of it sent, through the Superintendents and other 
Preachers, to every leader in the Connexion, to be by him 
read and explained to his Class at the two Meetings imme- 
diately preceding the time when that Subscription is to be 
taken down on the Class Papers, or collected from the 
Members. And the Conference specially requests the ac- 
tive and affectionate co-operation of the Class-Leaders in 
promoting this work of faith and labour of love. 1818. 

LXI. In order to facilitate the regular transaction of the 
business belonging to the School-Fund, and the annual 
settlement of its accounts, it is resolved : — 

1. That all monies received for this Fund shall be re- 
mitted to the General Treasurer, and to no other person. 
The Preachers are required uniformly to attend to this. 

2. Any small fractional sums (under One Pound), which 
it may not be convenient in all cases to remit by post, at 
the time when the other collected in the Circuit are sent, 
may be reserved till the next Conference, and then paid as 
balances to the General Treasurer : but notice of such 
balances reserved shall be given, when the Collections at 
large are sent ; together with Alphabetical Lists of all sub- 
scribers of ten shillings and upwards, and a distinct state- 
ment of all that has been raised in each Circuit for the 
School-Fund. 1819. 

LXII. Although the Conference has resolved no longer 
to pay regularly in advance the usual allowances to the 
Children, who have claims on the School-Fund, it is never- 
theless agreed, That for the present year, the sums, which 
according to this Resolution would become due to any 
Preacher at the Conference in 1821, for his Daughters, or 
for his Sons not at either of the Schools, may be received 
by him out of the Collections or Subscriptions, to be made 
in his own Circuit in the month of October next, if suffi- 
cient for that purpose. But it is directed, that the Superin- 
tendents shall be very careful to be clear and correct in 
stating to the General Treasurer of the School-Fund, when 
they make their remittances, what was the total amount of 
their receipts from Collections or Subscriptions of Friends, 
and also from Preachers' Contributions ; and they are par- 
ticularly to state, how much they have paid out of that 
sum for the School- Allowances, from the School-Fund, to 
Preachers' Sons and Daughters, with the names of the 
Children for whom any such sums have been paid, and the 
exact number of years during which such allowance has 
been paid to each Child. 1820. 

LXIII. If any of the Preachers send their subscrip- 
tions to the Conference, by the Superintendent of the Cir- 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 101 

cuit, or the Chairman of the District, and he neglect to pay 
in the money to the Treasurer of the Fund, such Superin- 
tendent, or Chairman, shall pay the usual fine for his 
neglect. 1820. 

LXIV. The Conference directs that no Preacher shall 
be allowed to retain any part of the July Collection, for the 
purpose of paying his own deficiencies; but that every Su- 
perintendent shall pay the entire sum, received in his 
Circuit, into the hands of the Treasurer of the Contingent 
Fund. 1820. 

LXV. Q. What can we do to prevent scandal, when 
any of our Members becomes a Bankrupt, or fails in 
business. 

A. 1. Let our old Rule on this subject be reprinted; 
viz. " In this case, let two of the principal Members of the 
Society be deputed to examine his accounts ; and if he has 
not kept fair accounts, or has been concerned in that base 
practice of raising money by coining notes (commonly 
called the Bill-Trade), let him be immediately expelled 
from the Society." 

2. Let all our Superintendents faithfully act according to 
this Rule. 

3. If any Member be found to have speculated in busi- 
ness beyond a reasonable probability of his being able to 
meet every lawful demand, he shall be suspended from the 
privileges of the Society for one year at least. 

4. If any of our Members who have formerly failed in 
business, shall afterwards, by the blessing of God, have 
acquired property, we earnestly exhort them to demonstrate 
their integrity by paying all their former deficiencies as 
soon as possible. 1820. 

LXVI. The Rule of last year [see No. LXII.] autho- 
rising the Preachers who will have claims, due at the next 
Conference to the usual Allowances for Education on ac- 
count of their Daughters, or of their Sons not at our Schools, 
to receive the same in advance, out of the Collections and 
Subscriptions which will be made in their own Circuits for 
this Fund in the month of October, is to be regarded as a 
permanent Regulation. A Schedule is to be sent by the 
General Treasurer to every Circuit, in which the Super- 
intendent is distinctly to enter, according to the directions 
given in the said Rule, all his Receipts and Payments of 
every kind on account of this Fund, and such other parti- 
culars as are therein required. 1821. 

LXVII. Every Superintendent shall be required not 
only finally to settle his Book-Account for the preceding 
year at each Conference, but regularly to remit the money 
in his hands, without any reserve or deduction whatever 



102 SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 

(except for current expenses for postage and carriage), to 
the Book-steward, at Christmas, at Lady-Day, and at Mid- 
summer-Day, and as muchoftener as possible. The Book- 
Committee are directed to use such means as they may find 
expedient for the full and impartial execution of this Rule, 
which is an important part of the System of Financial 
Regulations lately adopted with so much benefit to the 
Connexion, and which the measures agreed upon at this 
Conference (in reference to the partial payment of Ordinary 
Deficiencies in the course of the year, by the Treasurer of 
the Contingent Fund,) [see Contingent Fund, No. X.] now 
render practicable in every Circuit. The Conference also 
directs, with a view to the same object, that payment on de- 
livery for our Magazines and other Books shall be strongly 
recommended to the Subscribers and Purchasers by the 
Preachers, and also occasionally on the Cover of the Maga- 
zine, as one means of materially assisting a Concern, on the 
Profits of which the carrying on of the work of God in our 
own country so mainly depends. 1821. 

LXVIII. Q. What are the spiritual state and prospects 
of our Societies in general? 

A. The Conference having appointed a time, as last year, 
for special conversation on the state of Religion in our 
Societies, and on the best means of further promoting the 
work of God, were thankful to receive much pleasing and 
encouraging information from various parts of the Con- 
nexion ; and from the statements given by several of the 
Preachers respecting the means which appear to have been 
especially owned of God, were led to agree upon the fol- 
lowing particulars : viz. — 

1. We resolve that there shall be a regular observance of 
the Quarterly Fasts in all our Circuits, as appointed by Mr. 
Wesley ; which are, the first Fridays after Michaelmas- 
Day, Christmas-Day, Lady-Day, and Midsummer-Day ; on 
which occasions, Public Prayer-Meetings shall be held in 
all our Chapels, at those hours which may be deemed most 
convenient for the attendance of our people. At the An- 
nual District-Meetings, the Chairmen are directed to make 
particular inquiries concerning the conduct of the Brethren, 
in reference to this Regulation. 

: 2. We agree strongly to advise the Members of our So- 
ciety, especially in large towns, to meet in those classes 
which are the nearest to their respective places of residence; 
in order that their attendance may be less liable to inter- 
ruption, and that they may be visited with greater facility 
by their Leaders. 

3. We earnestly exhort all our Preachers to be increas- 
ingly diligent in pastoral visits to the families of our peo- 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 103 

pie ; endeavouring to render such visits eminently profitable 
to all present, by prayer, and by spiritual conversation. 

4. We recommend to the Preachers, in all cases where 
it is practicable, the establishment and superintendence of 
Prayer-Meetings in private houses ; as being calculated not 
only to call into exercise the gifts of our people, and to 
promote their religious improvement, but also to awaken 
the attention of the ignorant and profligate to the concerns 
of their souls, as well as to obtain the special blessing of 
God upon the public ministry of his word. 

5. We strongly advise the Preachers in their respective 
Circuits, particularly in the more populous Districts, and 
where there is a general neglect of the means of grace al- 
ready established, to avail themselves of every opportunity 
to preach in private houses, especially in the cottages of the 
poor ; not for the purpose of superseding the regular exer- 
cise of their ministry in our Chapels, or other places of 
public worship, but in order to obtain access to the more 
neglected part of the people, and to bring those who are at 
present living without God in the world under such a con- 
cern for the salvation of their souls, as will induce them to 
become stated attendants upon the Ordinances of the Lord's 
House. 

6. The distribution of Religious Tracts, having, in many 
instances, been followed by the most beneficial results, the 
Conference recommends it to the Preachers and to our 
people in general, to form Associations, in the different 
Circuits, for a regular and systematic circulation of Tracts, 
especially of those written by Mr. Wesley, in the way of 
loan and otherwise, as may be deemed expedient. 

7. We again exhort all our people, who have opportunity, 
to meet in Band ; as an old established usage in our Con- 
nexion, and an important means of improvement in per- 
sonal religion : and the Preachers are directed to hold 
General Meetings of the Bands in every Society where it 
is practicable. 

8. For the spiritual benefit of our people, and in order 
that'the blessing of God may rest upon their families, we 
earnestly press upon them the orderly and devout exercise 
of Family-worship, accompanied by a deliberate reading of 
the Holy Scriptures. In order to a due discharge of this 
most important duty, a suitable portion of time should be 
conscientiously set apart on the morning and evening of 
every day, when the attendance of all the members of the 
family, including the servants, should be required. 

9. We again solemnly resolve, after the example of our 
venerable Fathers in the Gospel, with all plainness and zeal, 
to preach a free, present, and full salvation from sin ;— a 



104 SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 

salvation flowing from the mere grace of God, through the 
redemption which is in Christ Jesus, apprehended by the 
simple exercise of Faith, and indispensably preparatory to a 
course of practical holiness. And in this great work, our 
only reliance for success is upon the promised grace of the 
Holy Spirit ; by whose inspiration alone it is, that the Gos- 
pel in any instance is rendered the " power of God unto 
salvation." 

10 The Conference also requires, that in every Circuit 
the plans for the Quarterly Visitation of the Societies shall 
be so arranged, as not to crowd too many Classes together, 
but to afford proper time for a minute examination of the 
Members, and for suitable advice, encouragement, and ad- 
monition. 

11. We once more solemnly call upon the Members of 
our Society conscientiously to sanctify the Sabbath-day, 
both individually and in their families ; especially by a re- 
gular attendance upon the public worship of Almighty God 
in the forenoon, as well as on the subsequent services of that 
sacred day, and by suffering as few persons under their 
care as possible to be detained at home. 

12. We also advise the Preachers occasionally to invite, 
after preaching on the Lord's day, such persons as may be 
seriously concerned for the salvation of their souls, to call 
upon them, and converse with them, on the following day, 
at an hour which they may appoint for this purpose. 

13. The Conference directs, that the " Twelve Rules of a 
Helper," and the Results of the Conversation on carrying 
on the Work of God, inserted in the Minutes of 1820, shall 
be annually read by the Chairman in every District-Meet- 
ing, and proper time allowed for examination, and for use- 
ful conversation, on the several subjects to which they refer. 

14. The Preachers are peremptorily required to read the 
Pastoral Address of the Conference to all the Societies in 
their respective Circuits. 1821. 

LXIX. Every Superintendent is required to remit all 
the monies which may be raised for the Chapel-Fund in his 
Circuit, whether privately or publicly, to the Treasurers, 
at No. 14, City-Road, London, on or before the 15th day 
of March. 1821. 

LXX. The Preachers shall request some of the Trustees 
in their respective Circuits, to accompany them in their 
application for Subscriptions and Donations for the Chapel- 
Fund j and shall make proper arrangements for that pur- 
pose at the December Quarterly-Meetings. 1823. 

LXXI. Q. What can be done to maintain among all 
our people a strict and conscientious observance of the 
Lord's- day ? 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 105 

A. We solemnly confirm our former Minutes on that 
important branch of Christian duty [see Nos. II. V. XIX. 
XXXV. LXVIII. 11; also Rules concerning Chairmen, No. 
XX. 24 ; also Recommendations concerning Family Religion, 
No. I.] And we require our Preachers, especially the 
Superintendents, to enforce them on the attention and 
practice of our people. In particular we express our dis- 
approbation of Sunday Baking. And we also advise all our 
■friends mildly, but steadily, to discountenance the plan of 
teaching the art of Writing on the Lord's -day, to the Chil- 
dren of Sunday-Schools, as one which has an injurious 
effect both on Teachers and Scholars ; occupies a consider- 
able portion of the LoRD's-day, that might be more pro- 
fitably employed in catechetical and other religious instruc- 
tion ; — and, being wholly secular in its direct object and 
tendency, is, in our judgment, an unjustifiable infringement 
of the sanctity of the Sabbath. 

N. B. This Minute was passed by an unanimous Vote of 
the Conference. 1823. 

LXXII. Q. Are any additional Directions necessary 
respecting the Marriage of our Preachers ? 

A. It is the solemn judgment of the Conference, That 
it is very highly inexpedient and dangerous for a Metho- 
dist Preacher to marry a person who, though truly pious, 
does not give at least that degree of public proof of cordial 
agreement with us, in doctrine and discipline, which is im- 
plied in being a Member of our Society. — The only exception 
to this Rule must be found in some very extraordinary 
cases, where the inclination to unite with us in Christian 
communion may have been controlled by the want of op- 
portunity, or other unavoidable circumstances. Where 
this cannot be pleaded, the Conference deem the marriage 
of a Preacher with a female not belonging to our Society 
to be an instance of culpable imprudence, perilous to the 
comfort and usefulness of the Preacher himself, and likely, 
if not discountenanced, to be greatly injurious to the 
spiritual interests of our people. 1824. 

LXXIII. Q. What further measure can be adopted, in 
order to render the Fund for the support of the Schools, 
and for the Education of the Preachers' Children in general, 
more adequate to the great additional expenditure, which 
has been occasioned by the enlargement of the Connexion 
and the increase of the number of Preachers ? 

A. Let there be a suitable interchange of Preachers, in 
all the Circuits in which it shall be found practicable, at 
the time when the Public Collections are made. 1824. 

LXXIV. Every Superintendent is required to examine 
the Trustee-Books, and to sign each Schedule, as vouching 
F 2 



106 SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 

for its correctness, before he bring any Chapel case to the 
District-Meeting. 1825. 

LXXV. We advise our Preachers to revive the general 
use of the Sacramental Hymns, when they administer the 
Lord's Supper; and strongly to recommend the private use 
of them to our People, as likely to promote a devout and 
profitable attendance on that holy Ordinance. 1825. 

LXXVI. Q. What can we further do to promote the 
prosperity and permanency of the Work of God in our So- 
cieties ? 

A. In addition to the zealous and faithful preaching of 
the Gospel in all our Congregations, and wherever we can 
obtain access for that purpose, — we once more earnestly 
exhort our Preachers firmly, vigilantly, and affectionately 
to enforce, in all our Societies, every part of our discipline. 
We particularly require that two of the Lessons for the 
Day, taken from the Holy Scriptures, shall be constantly 
read, at least once in every Sabbath, wherever we preach ; 
— that the Societies shall be frequently met, apart from the 
congregation at large, and suitably addressed on the various 
relative duties, on the due sanctification of the Sabbath, 
and other appropriate topics ; — and that when the Lord's 
Supper is administered, the Communicants shall be pre- 
viously required to produce their Society-Tickets, or Notes 
of Admission, according to our established Rules. 1825. 

LXXVI I. Q. What additional Regulations are judged 
proper, in respect to Preachers received on Trial ? 

A. No person shall in future be deemed eligible for ex- 
amination at any District- Meeting, as a Candidate for re- 
ception even on Trial into our Itinerancy, unless his Su- 
perintendent be able to certify on his behalf, that he has 
previously read with care our standard doctrinal works ; 
viz. Mr. Wesley's Notes on the New Testament, and his 
first Four Volumes of Sermons. 1825. 

LXXVIII. Q. As the fund for the support of the Schools, 
and for the Education of the Preachers' Children in general, 
is still inadequate to the great additional expenditure which 
has resulted from the enlargement of the Connexion, and 
the increase of the number of Preachers, — what plan can 
we adopt to meet the deficiency ? 

A. Every Preacher who has a Son at the Schools, shall 
subscribe Two Guineas per Annum towards the support of 
the Schools ; — every Preacher who receives the allowance 
of Twelve Pounds for the education of a Son at home, shall 
subscribe One Guinea per Annum for the like purpose ; 
and every other Travelling Preacher shall be required to 
subscribe, at least Half-a-Guinea per annum, in aid of the 
School-Fund. 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 107 

N. B. 1 . The Private Subscriptions and Public Collec- 
tions for the Schools, &c. are to be made, as usual, in the 
month of October. All money belonging- to this Fund is 
to be remitted to the General Treasurers, — and it is ex- 
pressly required, that the Collections, &c. received in 
October, shall be transmitted to the General Treasurers 
not later than the 15th of November. 

2. The Treasurers' Accounts will be closed on the 24th 
of June, that they may bring with them to the Conference 
a complete Report of the state of the Fund ; in order to 
which, every Superintendent is required to transmit to the 
Treasurers a correct- List of his Subscriptions and Collec- 
tions, on or before the 20th of June. — And, further, every 
Superintendent shall pay to the Chairman of his District, 
at the time of the Annual District-Meeting, at latest, all 
additional Subscriptions or Collections which he may have 
received after the 15th of November. 1826. 

LXXIX. The Preachers, and others whom it may con- 
cern, are reminded, that according to Rule, " No case shall 
be sanctioned by the Chapel-Building Committee, unless it 
shall come before them as having received the previous ap- 
probation of the Quarterly-Meeting of the Circuit, and shall 
be recommended either by the Annual District-Meeting, or, 
at least, by three Superintendents in the Neighbourhood, 
who shall certify their approbation in writing/' And the 
Conference again strongly recommends that the consent of 
the District-Meeting, and not merely of three Superinten- 
dents, shall be obtained, before any decisive step is taken, 
whenever it is possible to wait, without material inconve- 
nience, until that Meeting shall be assembled. 

N. B. All letters on the Subject of Chapels should be 
addressed to the Secretary of the above Committee : and it 
is particularly requested that such letters may be sent post 
paid. 1826. 

LXXX. The Superintendents of Circuits, and Chairmen 
of Districts, are required, before they sanction any applica- 
tion for the relief of distressed Chapels, to inquire whether 
the said Chapels, or any part of the Trust-Premises, be oc- 
cupied as a Sunday-School ; and if so, whether a fair and 
reasonable Rent be paid to the Trustees in consideration of 
such occupation. 1826. 

LXXXI. Q. It is reported that in some places the 
Leaders' Meetings have not been regularly held: — What 
Directions shall be given on that subject? 

A. I. Every Superintendent is positively required to 
take care that the Class-Leaders of the Town in which the 
Preachers reside shall be uniformly met, according to our 
original Rule, once in every week, either by himself, or by 



108 SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 

one of his Colleagues : and that the Class-Leaders of tne 
principal Societies in the country, belonging to his Circuit, 
shall usually be met at least once in every fortnight. Re- 
gular Leaders'-Meetings have from the beginning been 
found essential to the pastoral care and spiritual prosperity 
of our Societies ; as well as to the orderly transaction of 
their financial concerns. 

2. As our ancient Rule directs that the Leaders shall, at 
each Leaders' Meeting, " pay to the Stewards what they 
have received of their several Classes in the week preced- 
ing/' and " show their account of what each person has 
contributed," — let our Superintendents steadily enforce a 
regular compliance with that Rule, by urging on the 
Leaders the duty of collecting weekly in every Class, and 
of immediately paying to the Stewards the Subscriptions 
of our Members for the support of the Gospel. And let 
the Preachers also attentively examine, at each meeting, 
the entries made in the Class-Books, in reference to the 
attendance of the Members ; in order that prompt and 
timely measures may be adopted in cases which, on in- 
quiry, shall appear to demand the exercise of discipline, or 
the interposition of pastoral exhortation and admonition. 
1826. 

LXXXII. In order to promote the ministerial improve- 
ment of our Junior Preachers, during their Probation, by 
facilitating their acquisition of our standard Works, and of 
other suitable Theological Books, we again earnestly re- 
commend to the Quarterly-Meetings of those Circuits in 
which such Preachers are stationed, while on trial, to allow 
them a sum of not less than One Guinea per Quarter, in 
addition to their usual salary, to be laid out in the purchase 
of Books under the direction of their Superintendent and 
other Colleagues. Every Superintendent is required to 
bring this recommendation before the Quarterly-Meeting: 
of his Circuit, if it have not been already adopted. 1826. 

LXXXIII. The Superintendents are directed gratui- 
tously to furnish every Steward, Local Preacher, and Class- 
Leader, in their respective Circuits, with a copy of the 
Annual Pastoral Address of the Conference to the Methodist 
Societies. 1826. 

LXXXIV. It is peremptorily required that, in order to 
bring the state and progress of the work of God, in every 
Circuit, distinctly and regularly under the examination of 
the District-Meetings, the Circuit Schedules, duly filled up, 
shall be annually produced, read, and considered. 1826. 

LXXXV. List of General Collections and Subscriptions 
during the year : 

1, The Private Subscriptions and Public Collections for 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 109 

the Kingswood and Woodhouse-Grove Schools, are to be 
made in the month of October ; and the money should be 
immediately remitted to the General Treasurers for the 
School-Fund, according to the directions given in No. 
LXXVIII. N.B. 1. 

2. The Private Subscriptions and Public Collections for 
the General Chapel-Fund, are to be made in the month of 
February ; and the money should be immediately remitted 
to the General Treasurers of that Fund. 

3. The Yearly Collection in all the Classes is to be made 
as usual at the March Visitation, and the money to be paid 
at the District-Meetings in May. 

4. The Private Subscriptions for the Mission Fund are 
to be received in all our Circuits, either weekly, monthly, 
quarterly, or annually, as is most convenient to the Sub- 
scribers. The Annual Public Collections for that Fund 
are to be made in all our Chapels, and other Preaching- 
Places, at the time of the Anniversaries of the several Aux- 
iliary or Branch Societies ; or, where no Public Meetings 
of that kind are held, in the month of May. The money 
so raised is to be remitted through the hands of the District- 
Treasurers, to the General Treasurers, whose Address is, 
No.77-, Hatton Garden, London. 

5. The Private Subscriptions for the Auxiliary Preachers' 
Fund, are to be solicited in the month of June ; and the 
money to be paid, on the first day of the Conference, into 
the hands of the Treasurer of that Fund. 

6. The Collection, in aid of the Contingent-Fund, for 
the support and spread of the Gospel in Great Britain and 
Ireland, is to be made in all our Chapels and Preaching- 
Places, not later than the second Sunday in July j and the 
money is to be paid on the first day of the Conference to the 
Treasurer of the Contingent-Fund. 1826. 

LXXXVI. Q. What Regulations are requisite for the 
preservation of Christian harmony and order, and the due 
exercise of our established discipline, in those populous 
towns and neighbourhoods where it has been, or may here- 
after be, found necessary to divide our Societies into two 
or more separate Circuits, and thus to place them under 
distinct spiritual jurisdictions ? 

A. 1. In all cases, it is to be considered as the standing 
rule of our Connexion, that the Preachers shall strongly 
advise and encourage the members of our Societies to meet 
in Classes which belong to the Circuits in which they re- 
side ; and that the contrary practice, though it cannot in 
all cases be prohibited, is to be prudently and as far as pos- 
sible discountenanced. 

2. Whatever relaxation of this general rule may be 
deemed expedient, in particular circumstances, as to pri- 



110 SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. 

vate members who reside in towns which are divided into 
different Circuits, it is a settled and uniform principle of 
our discipline, that persons acting as Local Preachers, Class- 
Leaders, Stewards, Conductors of Prayer- Meetings, or 
Exhorters, or sustaining any other office in our body, shall 
belong to the Circuits in which they severally reside, and 
shall confine their stated, and regular labours within the 
geographical boundaries of those Circuits ; — unless the Su- 
perintendent of their own respective Circuits shall deem it 
advisable, in rare and extraordinary cases, and for some 
special purpose, connected with the prosperity of the work of 
God, to consent to a temporary suspension of this principle. 

3. The Preachers of different Circuits, when resident in 
the same town, are advised to meet at least once in every 
month, for the purposes of mutual conference and prayer ; 
in order to promote brotherly love, and to afford frequent 
and regular opportunities for friendly consultation on sub- 
jects of common concern in their respective Circuits. 

N. B. The Regulations stated in the first and second 
articles of the preceding minute, are founded on the ob- 
vious reason, that without them no security can be ob- 
tained for the purity and good order of our body ; because, 
in many cases, no efficient religious inspection could be 
exercised, either by the Preachers, or by the Local Preach- 
ers' Meeting and Leaders' Meeting, in reference to the 
characters of non-resident members or officers, and thus 
the most dangerous violations or evasions of discipline 
might, occur. It is also to be remembered, that as of old, 
when " the people had a mind to build," they " repaired 
•every one over against his own house," so Christians are 
bound especially and primarily to serve God and his cause 
in those places where his Providence has fixed the bounds 
of their habitation; — "not pleasing themselves" nor 
" seeking their own profit " only, but cheerfully consult- 
ing, in all their religious arrangements and exertions, the 
edification of others, the order of the church of God, and 
the general good. 1827- 

LXXXVII. Q. How can we further promote the spiritual 
welfare of the young people connected with our Societies 
and families r 

A. Let our Preachers frequently and affectionately address 
them on their peculiar dangers and duties ; — guarding 
them against all sinful conformity to this world ; and es- 
pecially enforcing upon them, in the meetings of the So- 
cieties, those important rules which require our members 
•to refrain from " taking such diversions as cannot be used 
in the name of the Lord Jesus," and from " singing those 
songs, or reading tltose books, which do not tend to the 
-knowledge or love of God "1827. 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF CIRCUITS. Ill 

LXXXVIII. Q. What is the judgment of the Conference 
as to the propriety of affording, in certain instances, some 
additional facilities for the administration of the ordinance 
of Baptism ? 

A. Those of our Preachers on trial, who shall be deemed 
proper to be appointed for this purpose by their respective 
Superintendents, shall be allowed to administer the holy 
Sacrament of Baptism. But this permission shall extend 
only to private administration, in cases where children can- 
not be brought to the house of God, and where there are 
circumstances of great emergency, which will not allow 
the administration to be conveniently delayed. 1829. 

LXXXIX. The Superintendents of those Circuits in 
which the Conference may from year to year assemble shall, 
with the approbation of the President, (as already required 
by rule,) complete and print, not later than the loth day of 
June in each year, a Plan of the order of preaching in the 
principal Chapels during the session of the Conference ; 
and shall also, on or before the above date, inform every 
person whom they may have appointed to preach in those 
Chapels, of the time and place of such appointment. And 
in order that the Plan thus prepared may not be violated, 
to the disappointment of our friends, and to the great in- 
convenience of other parties concerned, no Preacher who 
attends the Conference shall be at liberty to make an en- 
gagement to preach in any other Circuit, either on the 
Sabbath, or on any other day, during the period appointed 
for the Meeting of the Conference, or of its various pre- 
paratory Committees, at the time for which his name shall 
be inserted on the Conference-Plan. 1830. 

XC. Q. Can any better method be adopted for receiving 
an accurate annual return of the number of members in 
our Societies ? 

A. 1. The Superintendents are directed to return, in 
their Quarterly Schedules, the precise number, without any 
abridgment or deduction, of those to whom, after due 
and sufficient probation, they or their colleagues have ac- 
tually given tickets in their respective Circuits. 

2. The Circuit Schedules for the preceding June, Sep- 
tember, December, and March quarters, shall be carefully 
examined by the Chairman at every District-Meeting in 
May ; and the whole number, without alteration, of those 
who appear to have received Society-Tickets at the March 
visitation of the Classes, shall be entered in the District- 
Minutes, in connexion with the Circuits to which they 
belong, and reported by the Chairman at the ensuing Con- 
ference to the persons appointed for that purpose. 1831. 



112 

IV. WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

I. This Institution shall be designated The Wesley an 
Methodist Missionary Society. 

II.' The object of this Society is to excite and combine, 
on a plan more systematic and efficient than has heretofore 
been accomplished, the exertions of the Societies and Con- 
gregations of the Wesleyan Methodists (and of others, who 
are friends to the conversion of the Heathen World, and to 
the preaching of the Gospel generally, in Foreign Lands), 
in the support and enlargement of the Foreign Missions, 
which were first established by the Rev. John Wesley, 
A.M., the Rev. Thomas Coke, LL.D., and others ; and 
which are now, or shall be, from year to year, carried on 
under the sanction and direction of the Conference of the 
People called Methodists. 

III. Every person subscribing annually the sum of One 
Guinea, and upwards, and every benefactor presenting a 
donation of Ten Pounds, and upwards, shall be deemed a 
Member of this Society, and entitled, as such, to a copy 
of the General Annual Report. 

IV. All Methodist Missionary Societies which have 
already been formed, and those which it is intended to form 
as soon as it shall be found practicable, for the several 
Districts in this kingdom into which the Methodist Con- 
nexion is divided, shall be entitled " Auxiliary Methodist 
Missionary Societies," for the Districts in which they have 
been, or may be, formed. 

All Methodist Missionary Societies already formed, or 
hereafter to be formed, in the particular Circuits of any 
District, shall be entitled, " Branch Methodist Missionary 
Societies " for the Circuit, or (where there are, or shall be, 
more than one such Society in the same Circuit,) for the 
City, Town, or Village, in which they are or shall be es- 
tablished — And the formation of Ladies' 1 Branch Associa- 
tions, and of Juvenile Branch Societies, in connexion with 
the Auxiliary Societies of the several Districts, is also 
earnestly recommended wherever separate institutions of 
that nature are likely to be advantageous. 

V. The Monies raised in any Circuit for the Methodist 
Missions, by Branch Societies, or other Local Associations, 
and all other Monies, in whatsoever way collected, for the 
same object, shall be regularly paid, once in every quarter, 
or oftener, into the hands of the Treasurer of the Auxiliary 
Society for the District in which the said Circuit is situate^, 
with the deduction only of such sums as may have been 
disbursed for the incidental and local expenses of the 
Branch Society. And the Treasurer of every District 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 113 

Auxiliary Society shall remit to the Treasurer or Treasurers 
of the General Society in London, once in every quarter, 
or oftener, all sums so received by him from the various 
Circuits in his District, deducting only the necessary in- 
cidental expenses incurred by the Auxiliary Society. 

YI. The Secretaries of every Branch Society, or other 
Local Association, shall forward annually to the Secretaries 
of the Auxiliary Society for their District, an alphabetical 
List of all the Benefactors and Subscribers during the 
preceding twelve months, with an account of their respec- 
tive contributions : stating at the same time what portion 
of the sums so received has been detained for local ex- 
penses, and what portion has been paid in to the Treasurer 
for the District : and the Secretaries of every District Aux- 
iliary Society shall also forward annually, to the Secretaries 
of the General Society in London, a similar List of the 
Benefactors and Subscribers in all the Circuits of their 
District, and an abstract of the accounts of the Auxiliary 
Society, shewing its gross receipts, its local payments, and 
its remittances to the General Treasurers. 

VII. All Benefactors of Ten Pounds, and upwards, and 
all Subscribers of One Guinea, and upwards, annually, 
to any of the Auxiliary or Branch Societies, or other Local 
Associations, in connexion with this Institution, shall be 
deemed, in right of such Benefaction or Subscription, 
Members of the General Society. 

VIII. All persons who collect to the amount of One 
Shilling and upwards, weekly, or Five Shillings and up- 
wards, monthly, for this Institution, or for any of its 
Auxiliaries, Branches, or Associations, shall also be Mem- 
bers of the General Society, and entitled to receive a copy 
of each Annual Report, and of each number of the Metho- 
dist Missionary Notices. 

IX. An Annual Public Meeting of the Members and 
Friends of this Society, connected with such religious 
services as may be deemed expedient, shall be held in 
London, on the first Monday in May, unless that day 
shall fall on the 6th or 7th of May, in which case the 
Meeting shall be held for that year on the 29th or 30th of 
April. 

X. A General Committee shall be appointed by the 
Conference, to whom shall be entrusted (in the intervals of 
the Annual Assemblies of that Body) the superintendence 
of the Collection and Disbursement of all Monies raised 
for the Foreign Missions which are now, or may hereafter, 
be carried on under its sanction, and by the Preachers in 
connexion with it ; and also the general management of 
those Missions, according to the Rules hereinafter provided 



114 WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

This Committee shall consist of the President and Secre- 
tary of the Conference, for the time being, and of forty- 
eight other Members; of whom at least one-third (eight 
Travelling Preachers, and eight other Members of the 
Methodist Society) shall be selected from the Country Cir- 
cuits : the rest shall be resident in or near London, where 
meetings of the Committee shall be held once a month, or 
oftener, for the transaction of business. Those of the 
Methodist Ministers who are Annual Subscribers to the 
Missions of One Guinea, and one Treasurer, Secretary, or 
other principal Member from every District Auxiliary So- 
ciety, who may be in London occasional^', shall be en- 
titled to meet and vote with the Committee. 

XI. The London Members of the General Committee 
shall consist of sixteen of the Methodist Ministers, stationed 
for the time being in or near London, and of sixteen gen- 
tlemen, Members of the Methodist Society, not Travelling 
Preachers. Four out of the last-mentioned sixteen shall 
go out annually by rotation. This rotation, during the 
first three years, shall be effected by ballot of the Com- 
mittee, after which it will proceed in regular course. Four 
of the country Members (two Preachers and two others) 
shall also be changed annually. 

XII. One or more general Treasurers, who shall be en- 
titled to sit and vote with the Committee, during the 
year of their continuance in office, shall be annually ap- 
pointed. 

XIII. Three of the Methodist Ministers, stationed in or 
near London, shall be appointed to conduct the official 
correspondence of the Missions, and to perform the other 
duties of Secretaries. The Secretaries shall be expected to 
devote themselves on the week-days, in general, to the 
service of the Missions exclusively; being subject, how- 
ever, to all the General Rules of the Connexion, respecting 
a regular change of Station. 

XIV. As all the Missionaries supported by the Funds of 
this Society are to be Preachers in connexion with, and 
under the direction of, the Methodist Conference, and have 
generally a claim to be received as such into the Connexion 
at home, on their return from Foreign Stations, the selec- 
tion of Missionaries shall be made in the following way ; 
viz. — 

1. Every Candidate must, in the first instance, be re- 
commended by the Superintendent of the Circuit in which 
he resides ; be approved by the Quarterly-Meeting of that 
Circuit ; and be examined and approved also, either by the 
Annual District-Meeting, or, at least, by three other Super- 
intendents in the neighbourhood. 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 115 

2. The list of Candidates for Missionary service, who 
shall be thus recommended by their several Superinten- 
dents, Quarterly-Meetings, and District-Meetings, &c.-, 
shall be annually laid before the Conference ; and such a 
number of those who are deemed most eligible, as are 
likely to be wanted in the course of the ensuing twelve 
months, shall be sent for to the Conference, and examined 
by a Special Committee, in reference to their Missionary 
views and qualifications. In cases where it may be found 
inexpedient for them to attend the Conference, they shall 
be examined by as many of the Preachers of the London 
District as can conveniently assemble for that purpose. 

3. Those Candidates who shall be approved by the Spe- 
cial Committee at the Conference, or by the Preachers of 
the London District, as before mentioned, shall be entered 
on. the List of Received Missionaries, and be subject to 
the call of the General Committee for such Stations as may 
need supply or reinforcement. 

4. When Preachers, already engaged as such in the 
Connexion at Home, offer themselves for Foreign Service, 
they shall be personally examined in reference to that sub- 
ject by a Special Committee at the Conference ; or, if that 
be impracticable, by as many of the Preachers of the Lon- 
don District as can conveniently assemble for the purpose; 
and shall, if approved, be also placed on the List of Re- 
ceived Missionaries. 

5. If it shall at any time appear, to a majority of the 
General Committee in London, that there are reasons why 
any Preacher called out from the said List of Received 
Missionaries, and proposed for a Foreign Station, should 
not proceed upon that Service, they shall have a right to 
suspend his appointment as a Missionary, until the ensuing 
Conference shall specially consider an& determine on his 
case. 

6. If, in the intervals of the Annual Meetings of the 
Conference, the List of Received Missionaries shall be ex- 
hausted, and more Missionaries shall be urgently wanted, 
or, if an immediate supply shall be needed for some Sta- 
tion of peculiar difficulty, or requiring peculiar qualifica- 
tions, the General Committee shall be at liberty to employ 
such persons as they deem suitable. Provided always, that 
such persons shall have been previously recommended by 
their respective Superintendents, by the Quarterly- Meetings 
of the Circuits in which they reside, and either by the 
District Meetings, or by three other neighbouring Super- 
intendents, and also previously examined and approved by 
as many of the Preachers of the London District as can 
conveniently assemble, who shall be considered, on such 



116 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 



occasions, as exercising, on behalf of the Conference, the 
same functions which would, in ordinary cases, belong to 
the Special Committee appointed during the sittings of the 
Conference, according to the 2nd and 4th Articles of this 
Rule : Provided also, that this right of the Committee to 
employ Missionaries not entered on the Annual List, shall 
be exercised only in case of pressing necessity, and not 
without the consent of the President of the Conference for 
the time being. 

XV. The Plan for stationing the Missionaries supported 
by this Society, shall be annually drawn up by the Secreta- 
ries, laid before the General Committee in London, and, 
if approved by them, recommended to the Conference. 

XVI. The Trial of Missionaries, who may at any time 
be accused of misconduct, or of having deviated from the 
doctrines and discipline of the Connexion, shall, in all 
ordinary cases, be left with the Foreign District-Meetings 
to which such Missionaries may at the time belong, ac- 
cording to the General Rules and Usages of the Methodist 
Conference. But the Conference shall have, as heretofore, 
the right of recalling any Missionary, whether put on his 
trial by a Foreign District-Meeting or not, whenever there 
shall appear to them to be reason for such recall. And, in 
the intervals of the sittings of the Conference, the General 
Committee in London shall possess a similar power of re- 
call, and of putting any Missionary, so recalled by them, 
upon his trial before the ensuing Conference ; or, in case 
of necessity for immediate decision, before the Preachers 
of the London District. 

XVII. For the satisfaction of the numerous Country 
Friends of this Society, on whose continued co-operation 
so much depends, and many of whom are in the habit of 
attending the Annual Meetings of the Conference, it is 
agreed, that a Special Meeting of the General Committee 
shall be held, once a year, at the place where the Confer- 
ence is held, at nine o'clock in the morning of the Tuesday 
preceding the last Wednesday in July. To this Meeting 
the Conference shall, from year to year, invite nine Preach- 
ers, and nine other Members of the Methodist Society, 
resident in the neighbourhood, who are not Travelling 
Preachers, together with the Treasurers and Secretaries of 
the different Auxiliary and Branch Societies in the vicinity, 
and such other leading Country Friends of the Methodist 
Missions as can conveniently attend. The persons thus 
assembled, in conjunction with those regular Members of 
the General Committee who can be present, shall review the 
Minutes of the Financial Business transacted during the 
preceding year, and examine the General Accounts of the 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 117 

State and Expenditure of every Mission. Any suggestions 
for the improvement or extension of the Missionary Concerns 
of the Connexion, which this Special Meeting may deem 
it expedient to recommend, shall be minuted by the Secre- 
taries, and promptly considered by the Conference, or at 
the subsequent regular Meetings of the General Committee 
in London. 

XVIII. It is earnestly recommended to the Members of 
this Society, and of the Auxiliary Societies, and other 
Local Associations, in connexion with it, to consider it as 
an indispensable part of their daily Christian duty, to pray 
to Almighty God for a blessing upon its designs, and upon 
those of all similar Societies of other denominations, en- 
gaged in the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ ; 
under the full conviction that, unless He " prevent us in 
all our doings with his most gracious favour, and further 
us with His continual help," we cannot reasonably hope 
for a succession of persons of proper spirit and qualifica- 
tions for the office of Missionaries ; nor expect their labours 
to be crowned with the desired success. And it is further 
hoped that, with the same view, all the Members and Friends 
of this Society will sanction, in their several neighbour- 
hoods, by their presence and influence, the Monthly Mis- 
sionary Prayer-Meetings, which should be held in every 
Chapel in the Methodist Connexion, according to the Re- 
commendation of the Conference, published in their Mi- 
nutes for 1815 ; at which Meetings, Extracts from the Mis- 
sionary Notices, containing recent intelligence from the 
Foreign Stations, may be read, and united supplications 
offered up for the salvation of the World. 1818. 

Questions, additional to, or explanatory of, those usually 
put to Missionary Candidates, and to the Preachers who 
recommend them at the District-Meetings, which the 
Missionary Committee request the Chairmen of Districts 
to propose, and enter, with their answers, in the sub- 
joined blank spaces. 

1. From what Circuit is the Candidate recommended? 

2. What is his age ? 

3. How long has he acted as a Local Preacher? 

4. What is his occupation or profession, and is he ac- 
quainted with any other art ? 

5. Is he of robust or slender habit of body ? 

6. Has he enjoyed uninterrupted health ; and if not, 
what is the disorder to which he is most liable ? 

7- Has he been given to reading, and what books ? 

8. Does he appear well acquainted with the Scriptures ? 

9. Does he know English Grammar ? 



118 WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

10. Does lie write a good hand ? 

1 1 . What other language or languages, besides his native 
tongue, is he acquainted with ; and what science or sciences ? 

12. Does he prefer Missionary labour to any other, feel- 
ing deeply for the state of the Heathen, and being earnestly 
desirous of enlarging the kingdom of Christ ? 

13. Is he willing to go to any part of the world where 
his labours may be likely, under God's blessing, to be most 
useful ? 

14. Is he willing to remain abroad as long as the Com- 
mittee may think proper ? 

15. Does he offer himself to the Committee to go out as 
a married, or as a Single Man ? 

16. If as a Married Man, can the person to whom he is 
engaged be recommended for her piety, prudence, general 
fitness for the Wife of a Missionary, and her zeal in the 
cause of Christ ? 

17. Have the Parents of the young woman given their 
consent ? 

N.B. We wish the 13th and 14th Questions to be clearly 
understood by our Brethren, and to be fully explained to 
the Candidates when they are proposed. 

As to the 13th, we certainly greatly prefer a young man 
who leaves his appointment to the best judgment of his 
Brethren ; but in all cases, as far as possible, we endeavour 
to meet those preferences which may exist in the minds of 
Missionary Candidates ; thinking that strong drawings of 
heart to any particular part of the world, especially if it be 
one of difficulty and hazard, may be from God. 

As to the 14th Question, the Committee have, for the 
last four years, taken out no man for a previously-limited 
and determinate period. The condition has been, that the 
person sent out is to remain abroad as long as the Com- 
mittee shall think proper. But it is to be understood, First, 
that in case of failure of health, a Missionary may be re- 
moved to a more healthy or less laborious Station : Secondly, 
that in case of confirmed delicate health occurring after a 
service of a number of years, — say not less than ten, — and 
with the previous consent of the Committee, a Missionary 
may be allowed to return home for a period not exceeding 
two years, and then take another foreign appointment :* 
Thirdly, that in the case of a Missionary who has gone 
out for an unlimited period, single, and free from any ma- 
trimonial engagement, wishing to marry, he may be per- 
mitted to return, due notice being given, after six years' 

* In cases of severe and continued affliction, the Committee have spe- 
cial regulations to meet the case. 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 119 

service in the West Indies, four years in West Africa, six 
in South Africa, eight in Ceylon and India, or ten in New 
South Wales and the South Sea Islands, and to spend one 
year in England, that he may have the opportunity of meet- 
ing with a suitable Wife ; after which time he is to return 
again, and remain abroad as long as the Committee may 
think proper :* Fourthly, that, after a period of twenty 
years' service abroad, should any Missionary wish to return 
home finally, he must state his wish to the Committee, and 
wait their permission. 

It will also be necessary to state to the Candidates, that 
the Committee will not, in future, send out any Missionary 
who has a matrimonial engagement unfulfilled. If the 
Candidate offers himself to the Committee to go out 
married, he cannot be finally accepted, until satisfactory 
testimony as to the suitableness of the person he intends 
to marry is obtained by the Secretaries, should no explicit 
testimony on that point be transmitted from the District- 
Meeting, in answer to the 15th and 16th Questions. On 
the subjeet of subsequent marriage-engagements, in the 
case of those who offer themselves to go out single, we 
wish the Candidates to be made acquainted with the fol- 
lowing Resolution of the Committee : — 

" That in future every Missionary Candidate, who has 
offered himself to the Conference or Committee to go out 
a Single Man, shall be informed, that he instantly becomes 
bound by the Rule which directs our Preachers not to take 
any step towards marriage without consulting their Bre- 
thren : and that every such Candidate shall be acquainted 
that the Committee expect that those who are proposed as 
Single Men shall actually go out single ; or that at all 
events, even in case of some unlooked-for change of cir- 
cumstances, no step of that kind must be taken by him, 
under any pretence whatever, until he shall have first con- 
sulted the Secretaries, and obtained, through them, the full 
and formal consent of the Committee." 

The above Regulations, as to the period of foreign service, 
are not intended to apply to Travelling Preachers in full 
connexion, who may offer themselves as Missionaries. The 
period of their stay abroad is reserved as a matter of nego- 
tiation between them and the Committee. 

The above Regulations received the sanction of the Con- 
ference of 1821. The reasons on which they are founded 
are obvious. Whilst our Missions were confined to the 
West Indies and British America, where no languages were 

* In the case of Missionaries proposing to marry a person resident 
abroad, the Committee have also special regulations. 



120 WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

to be learned, and no great expense of outfit was incurred* 
and where the Connexion at home could, without difficulty, 
find Stations for all returned Missionaries, a limited period 
of service was allowed without involving much difficulty. 
These circumstances, however, as the Brethren well know, 
are now greatly altered ; and justice to the Mission cause 
and its friends on the one hand, as well as to the Connexion 
on the other, required that the former Rules on the term of 
foreign service should be altered. There may, indeed, be 
extraordinary cases, in which the Missionary Committee 
ought to be vested with power to modify some of the above 
Standing Rules ; but such cases must always be considered 
as exceptions, to be only admitted on the special deliberation 
and decision of the Conference or Committee. 

Another end will, we trust, be accomplished by such 
Regulations. Those persons only are likely to comply with 
them, whose minds are influenced by that love to the souls 
of the Heathen, and that devotedness of spirit to Missionary 
labours, without which the usefulness of any man abroad 
is very problematical. 

Mission-House, 77, Hatton-Garden, London, 
April 30th, 1822. 



At a Meeting of the Committee, held at the Wesleyan 
Mission-House, Hatton-Garden, London, December 18, 
1817, it was unanimously resolved, — 

1. That the substance of various Advices and Directions 
which have, from the commencement of the Wesleyan Mis- 
sions, been delivered to the Missionaries, shall be forthwith 
embodied in the form of printed Instructions, which shall 
be considered as standing Rules of conduct for the said 
Missionaries. 2. That a copy of these Instructions, signed 
by the Secretaries for the time being, shall be furnished to 
every Missionary who now is, or hereafter shall be, em- 
ployed in any of our Foreign Stations. 3. That the said 
Instructions shall be read over annually, at the meeting of 
every District Committee, by the Chairman ; who is to in- 
quire whether they have been observed on the part of the 
Brethren ; and the same shall be reported in the District- 
Minutes regularly, and with them transmitted to the 
Committee in London. Every Superintendent is not only 
charged with the observance of them himself, but is re- 
sponsible, as far as may be, for their observance by the 
Brethren under his direction, or for an immediate report 
to the District, or to the Managing Committee in London, 
in any case in whichr they may have been violated. 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 121 



INSTRUCTIONS TO THE WESLEYAN MISSIONARIES. 

I. We recommend to you, in the first place and above all 
things, to pay due attention to your personal piety ; which, 
by prayer, self-denial, holy diligence, and active faith in 
Him who loved you and gave himself for you, must be kept 
in a lively, vigorous, and growing state. Set before you 
constantly the example of the holy Apostle ; " This one thing 
I do j forgetting those things which are behind, and reach- 
ing forth unto those things which are before, I press towards 
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
Jesus." (Phil. iii. 13, 14.) Amidst all your reading, studies, 
journeyings, preaching, and other labours, let the prosperity 
of your own souls in the Divine life be carefully cultivated ; 
and then a spirit of piety will dispose you to the proper 
performance of your ministerial duties ; and, by a holy re- 
action, such a discharge of duty will increase your personal 
religion. 

II. We wish to impress on your minds the absolute ne- 
cessity of using every means of mental improvement with 
an express view to your great work as Christian Ministers. 
You are furnished with useful books, the works of men of 
distinguished learning and piety. We recommend to you 
to acquire an increase of that general knowledge, which, if 
the handmaid of Piety, will increase your qualifications for 
extensive usefulness. But more especially, we press upon 
you the absolute necessity of studying Christian Divinity, 
the doctrines of salvation by the cross of Christ, " which 
things the Angels desire to look into." They exercise their 
minds, which excel in strength, in the contemplation of 
those precious truths which you are called to explain and 
illustrate. Let all your reading and studies have a refer- 
ence to this. You are to teach Religion : you must, there- 
fore, understand Religion well. Your are to disseminate 
the knowledge of Christianity, in order to the salvation of 
men ; let the Bible then be your book ; and let all other 
books be read only in order to obtain a better acquaintance 
with the Holy Scriptures, and a greater facility in explain- 
ing, illustrating, and applying their important contents. 
We particularly recommend to you to read and digest the 
writings of Wesley and Fletcher, and the useful Com- 
mentaries with which you are furnished, which are designed 
and calculated to increase your knowledge of the Sacred 
Volume. Like the Baptist, you must be "burning and 
shining lights," and, therefore, recollect every day, that 
whilst you endeavour by reading, meditation, and conver- 
sation, to increase your stock of useful knowledge, it is 

G 



122 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 



necessary for you to acquire a proportionate increase of 
holy fervour. 

III. We exhort you, Brethren, to unity of affection, 
which will not fail to produce unity of action. Let your 
love be without dissimulation. In honour prefer one 
another. On this subject, we beseech you to pay a prac- 
tical regard to the advice of the venerable Founder of our 
Societies, the Rev. John Wesley. With his characteristic 
brevity he inquires, " What can be done in order to a closer 
union of our Preachers with each other? — Ans. 1. Let 
them be deeply convinced of the absolute necessity of it. 
2. Let them pray for an earnest desire of union. 3. Let 
them speak freely to each other. 4. When they meet, let 
them never part without prayer. 5. Let them beware how 
they despise each other's gifts. 6. Let them never speak 
slightingly of each other in any kind. 7- Let them defend 
one another's character in every thing, to the utmost of 
their power. And, 8. Let them labour in honour to prefer 
each the other before himself. 

IV. Remember always, dear Brethren, that you are 
by choice and on conviction Wesleyan Methodist 
Preachers ; and, therefore, it is expected and required 
of you, to act in all things in a way consistent with that 
character. In your manner of preaching, and of adminis- 
tering the various Ordinances of God's house, keep closely 
to the model exhibited by your Brethren at home. Indeed, 
you have solemnly pledged yourselves so to do. You have 
promised to preach, in the most explicit terms, the doctrines held 
as scriptural, and therefore sacred, in the Connexion to which 
you belong. We advise, however, in so doing, that you 
avoid all appearance of controversy, in your mode of stating 
and enforcing Divine truths. While you firmly maintain 
that ground which we, as a Body, have seen it right to take, 
cultivate a Catholic spirit towards all your fellow-labourers 
in the work of evangelizing the Heathen ; and aid them to 
the utmost of your power in their benevolent exertions. 
You have engaged also to pay a conscientious regard to our 
Discipline. We need not tell you, that all the parts of that 
Discipline are of importance ; and that, taken together, they 
form a body of Rules and Usages, which appear to meet all 
the wants* of individuals who are seeking the salvation of 
their souls : and under the Divine influence and blessing, to 
promote the prosperity of every Society. We also particu- 
larly press upon your constant attention and observance 
Mr. Wesley's Twelve Rules of a Helper. 

V. We cannot omit, without neglecting our duty, to warn 
you against meddling with political parties, or secular dis- 
putes. You are teachers of Religion • and that alone should 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 123 

be kept in view. It is, however, a part of your duty as 
Ministers, to enforce, by precept and example, a cheerful 
obedience to lawful authority. You know that the venerable 
Wesley was always distinguished by his love to his coun- 
try, by his conscientious loyalty, and by his attachment to 
that illustrious family which has so long filled the throne of 
Great Britain. You know that your Brethren at home are 
actuated by the same principles, and walk by the same rule : 
and we have confidence in you that you will preserve the 
same character of religious regard to good order and sub- 
mission " to the powers that be'' — in which we glory. Our 
motto is, " Fear God, and honour the King;" and 
we recollect who hath said, " Put them in mind to be sub- 
ject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be 
ready to every good work." 

VI. You will, on a foreign station, find yourselves in 
circumstances very different from those in which you are at 
home, with regard to those who are in authority under our 
gracious Sovereign. It is probable you will frequently come 
under their immediate notice and observation. We are, 
however, persuaded, that while you demean yourselves as 
you ought, you will be generally favoured with their pro- 
tection. On your arrival at your Stations, you will be in- 
structed what steps to take in order to obtain the protection 
of the local Governments : and we trust that your subse- 
quent good behaviour towards Governors, and all who are in 
authority, will be such as shall secure to you the enjoyment 
of liberty to instruct and promote the salvation of those to 
whom you are sent. 

VII. Those of you who are appointed to the West-India 
Colonies, being placed in stations of considerable delicacy, 
and which require, from the state of society there, a pecu- 
liar circumspection and prudence on the one hand, and of 
zeal, diligence, and patient perseverance, on the other; 
you are required to attend to the following directions, as 
specially applicable to your Mission there : — 

1. Your particular designation is to endeavour the re- 
ligious instruction and conversion of the ignorant, pagan, 
and neglected black and coloured population of the Island, 
or station, to which you may be appointed, and of all others 
who may be willing to hear you. 

2. Where Societies are already formed, you are required 
to watch over them with the fidelity of those who must give 
up their account to Him who hath purchased them with his 
Blood, and by whose Providence they are placed under your 
care. Your labours must be constantly directed to improve 
them in the knowledge of Christianity, and to enforce upon 
them the experience and practice of its doctrines and duties, 



124 WESLEY AN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

without intermingling doubtful controversies in your admi- 
nistrations, being mainly anxious, that those over whorayou 
have pastoral care, should clearly understand the principal 
doctrines of the Scriptures, feel their renovating influence 
upon their hearts, and become " holy in all manner of con- 
versation and godliness." And in order to this, we recom- 
mend that your sermons should consist chiefly of clear 
expositions of the most important truths of Holy Writ, 
enforced with affection and fervour on the consciences and 
conduct of them that hear you ; that you frequently and 
familiarly explain portions of the Scriptures ; and that, as 
extensively as you possibly can, you introduce the method 
of teaching children, and the less instructed of the adult 
slaves and others, by the excellent. Catechisms with which 
you are furnished. 

3. It is enforced upon you, that you continue no person 
as a member of your Societies, whose " conversation is not 
as becometh the Gospel of Christ." That any Member of 
Society who may relapse into his former habits, and become 
a polygamist, or an adulterer ; who shall be idle and disor- 
derly ; disobedient to his owner (if a slave) ; who shall 
steal, or be in any other way immoral or irreligious, shall 
be put away, after due admonition, and proper attempts to 
reclaim him from the " error of his way." 

4. Before you receive any person into Society, you shall 
be satisfied of his desire to become acquainted with the 
Religion of Christ, and to obey it; and if he has not pre- 
viously been under Christian instruction, nor baptized, you 
are, before his admission as a member, diligently to teach 
him the Christian faith, and the obligations which he takes 
upon himself by baptism ; so as to be assured of his having 
obtained such knowledge of the principles of religion, and 
such belief of them as to warrant you to administer to him 
that Ordinance. Beside this, no person is to be admitted 
into Society, without being placed first on trial, for such 
time as shall be sufficient to prove whether his conduct has 
been reformed, and that he has wholly renounced all those 
vices to which he may have been before addicted. 

5. You are to consider the children of the negroes and 
coloured people of your Societies and Congregations as a 
part of your charge ; and it is recommended to you, wher- 
ever it is practicable and prudent, to establish Sunday or 
other Schools for, their instruction. It is to be considered 
by you as a very important part of your duty as a Mission- 
ary, to catechise them as often as you conveniently can, at 
stated periods ; and to give your utmost aid to their being 
brought up in Christian knowledge, and in industrious and 
moral habits. 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 125 

6. As in the Colonies in which you are called to labour, 
a great proportion of the inhabitants are in a state of sla- 
very, the Committee most strongly call to your recollection, 
what was so fully stated to you when you were accepted as 
a Missionary to the West Indies, that your only business is 
to promote the moral and religious improvement of the 
slaves to whom you may have access, without, in the least 
degree, in public or private, interfering with their civil con- 
dition. On all persons, in the state of slaves, you are dili- 
gently and implicitly to enforce the same exhortations which 
the Apostles of our Lord administered to the slaves of an- 
cient nations, when by their ministry they embraced Chris- 
tianity ; " Servants, be obedient to them that are your 
masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in 
singleness of your heart, as unto Christ ; not with eye-ser- 
vice, as men-pleasers ; but as the servants of Christ, doing 
the will of God from the heart ; with good will doing ser- 
vice, as to the Lord, and not to men : knowing that what- 
soever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive 
of the Lord, whether he be bond or free." Eph. vi. 5 — 8. 
" Servants, obey in all things your masters according to 
the flesh ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers ; but in 
singleness of heart, fearing God : and whatsoever ye do, do 
it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men ; knowing, that 
of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance ; 
for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong 
shall receive for the wrong which he hath done : and there 
is no respect of persons." Col. iii. 22 — 25. 

7- You are directed to avail yourselves of every opportu- 
nity to extend your labours among the slaves of the Islands 
where you may be stationed ; but you are in no case to visit 
the slaves of any plantation without the permission of the 
owner or manager : nor are the times which you may ap- 
point for their religious services, to interfere with their 
owner's employ ; nor are you to suffer any protracted 
meetings in the evening, not even at Negro burials, on any 
account whatever. In all these cases you are to meet even 
unreasonable prejudices, and attempt to disarm suspicions, 
however groundless, so far as you can do it consistently with 
your duties as faithful and laborious Ministers of the Gospel. 

8. As many of the. Negroes live in a state of polygamy, 
or in a promiscuous intercourse of the sexes, your particular 
exertions are to be directed to the discountenancing and 
correcting of these vices, by pointing out their evil, both in 
public and in private, and by maintaining the strictest dis- 
cipline in the Societies. No man, living in a state of poly- 
gamy, is to be admitted a member, or even on trial, who 
will not consent to live with one woman as his wife, to 



126 WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

whom you shall join him in matrimony, or ascertain that 
this rite has been performed by some other Minister ; and 
the same Rule is to be applied, in the same manner, to 
a woman proposing to become a member of Society. No 
female, living in a state of concubinage with any person, 
is to be admitted into Society so long as she continues in 
that sin. 

9. The Committee caution you against engaging in any 
of the civil disputes or local politics of the Colony to which 
you may be appointed, either verbally, or by correspondence 
with any persons at home, or in the Colonies. The whole 
period of your temporary residence in the West Indies, is 
to be filled up with the proper work of your Mission. You 
are not to become parties in any civil quarrel ; but are to 
"please all men for their good to edification ;" intent upon 
the solemn work of your office, and upon that eternal state, 
in the views of which the Committee trust } r ou will ever 
think and act. 

10. In cases of opposition to your ministry, which may 
arise on the part of individuals, or of any of the colonial 
legislatures, a meek and patient spirit and conduct are re- 
commended to you. You will in particular guard against 
all angry and resentful speeches, and in no case attempt to 
inflame your Societies and hearers with resentment against 
your persecutors or opposers. Your business, in such cases, 
after every prudent means of obtaining relief has failed in 
your own hands, is with the Committee at home; who will 
immediately take such steps as may secure to you that pro- 
tection, from a mild and tolerant Government, which they 
hope your peaceable and pious conduct, your labours and 
successes, will ever merit for you. 

N. B. The Directions to the West India Missionaries are 
also to be considered as strictly obligatory on all others as 
far as they are applicable to the circumstances of the re- 
spective Stations. 

VIII. It is peremptorily required of every Missionary in 
our Connexion to keep a Journal, and to send home fre- 
quently such copious abstracts of it as may give a full and 
particular account of his labours, success, and prospects. 
He is also required to give such details of a religious kind 
as may be generally interesting to the friends of Missions 
at home ; particularly accounts of conversions. Only, we 
recommend to you, not to allow yourselves, under the in- 
fluence of religious joy, to give any high colouring of facts ; 
but always write such accounts as you would not object to 
see return in print to the place where the facts reported 
may have occurred. 
IX. It is a positive Rule amongst the Wesleyan Methodists, 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 127 

that no Travelling Preacher shall " follow trade." You are 
to consider this Rule as binding upon you, and all Foreign 
Missionaries in our Connexion. We wish yon to be at 
the remotest distance from all temptation to a secular or 
mercenary temper. "No man that warreth entangleth 
himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please 
him who hath called him to be a soldier." Independently 
of the moral and religious considerations which enforce 
this principle, we here take occasion to remind you, that all 
your time and energies should be the more sacredly devoted 
to the duties of your Mission, because the Committee feel 
themselves fully pledged to pay an affectionate attention to 
all your wants, and to afford them every reasonable and 
necessary supply. And this pledge, they doubt not, the 
generosity of the friends of Missions will, from time to 
time, enable them to redeem, so long as you < ontinue to re- 
gulate your expenses by as much of conscientious regard 
to economy, as may be found to consist with your health 
and comfort, and with the real demands of the Work of God. 
And now, Brethren, we commend you to God and the 
word of his grace. We unite with tens of thousands in 
fervent prayer to God for you. May he open to you a great 
door and effectual ; and make you, immediately or remotely, 
the instruments of the salvation of myriads. We shall 
incessantly pray, that " you may go out with joy, and be 
led forth with peace ; that instead of the thorn may come 
up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier the myrtle-tree ; 
and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting 
sign that shall not be cut off." " Blessed be the Lord God, 
the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things ; and 
blessed be his glorious name for ever, and let the whole 
earth be filled with his glory : Amen and Amen." 

Signed, by order of the Committee, 

George Morley, "] 

Richard Watson, \ General Secretaries. 

John Mason. J 

Wesleyan Mission-house, 77, Hatton-Garden, 
February 20tk, 1825. 

To the Rev. 

Dear Brother, 

As long as you comply with the Instructions con- 
tained in the preceding pages of this sheet, the Committee 
of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, acting in the name 
and by the appointment of the Conference, will rejoice to 
acknowledge you as a Methodist Missionary. 

Signed, on behalf of the Committee, 

; Secretaries. 
London, J 



128 WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

GENERAL RULES CONCERNING THE FOREIGN 

MISSIONS. 

I. Respecting the Foreign Missions, the following Rules 
were adopted : — 

1. That the Collections and Disbursements at large, shall 
be annually laid before the Conference, or before a Com- 
mittee appointed by the Conference ; that they also shall 
be transcribed into the Ledger, and published as the Con- 
ference shall appoint. 

2. That a Yearly Collection, as in Europe, shall be made 
in all the Islands where it is practicable, for the support of 
the work. 

3. That no person shall, in future, be employed as a 
Missionary, who is not received upon trial by the Con- 
ference, according to our Rules, or inserted in the List of 
Reserve. 

4. That all our Rules of discipline, respecting the ad- 
mission and exclusion of members, holding Love-feasts, 
&c, shall be strictly enforced as in Europe : and that the 
authority of the Superintendent in all these things, be the 
same in every place. 1SOO. 

II. We observe, for the satisfaction of the Missionaries, 
that (except those who were married at the time they left- 
Europe, and were then Local Preachers,) they are entitled 
to all the privileges of the Travelling Preachers in Europe; 
and on their return in due time, agreeably to Rule, shall be 
considered as Members of the Preachers' Fund, according 
to the number of years they have travelled, on the payment 
of Five Guineas, and afterwards complying with the Rules 
of the Fund. 1801. 

[The terms of admission to the privileges of the Fund 
now are : — That every Missionary, in consideration of the 
greater hazard of health and of life on Foreign Stations, is 
.required to pay double the amount of those Preachers who 
are in the Home Work, both as it respects their admission 
as new Members of the Fund, and their annual sub- 
scriptions.] 

III. Q. Can any improvement be made in the manage- 
ment of our Foreign Missions ? 

A. I. The West India Islands, where we have Missions, 
shall be immediately divided into Districts, according to the 
plan adopted at home. 

2. The Chairman of each District shall be annually ap- 
pointed by the Conference at home. 

3. The Secretary shall be chosen by ballot, at the com- 
mencement of each District-Meeting, which shall assemble 
annually, as soon as convenient after Easter Sunday. 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 129 

[The time of holding the District-Meetings is now varied 
according to circumstances. J 

4. A Book shall be provided in each District, and kept 
by the Chairman, in which the Minutes of every Meeting 
shall be registered year after year. 

5. In these Minutes, the most particular and detailed 
accounts of all Collections, Receipts, and Disbursements, 
shall be regularly inserted. 

6. Every year a full and faithful account shall be sent to 
the Secretary of the Missionary Committee in London by 
the first Packet, signed by all the Preachers present, or by 
the Chairman and Secretary. 

7. The District-Meetings shall be subject and account- 
able to the Missionary Committee at home ; and they subject 
and accountable to the Conference. 

8. It is expected, that the several District-Meetings will 
furnish annual information to the Committee on the follow- 
ing subjects, viz : (1.) The state of their Finances. (2.) 
The state of our Chapels and other property in the West- 
Indies, with regard to their security to the Connexion. (3.) 
The number of Preachers, who, in their judgment, are ne- 
cessary for each Island, and, consequently, the number of 
new Missionaries which may, at any time, be wanted. (4.) 
Their opinion concerning the stationing of the Preachers in 
the Islands, subject to the control of the British Conference. 
(5.) The general state of religion in the Islands; and, (6.) 
The characters of the Preachers, with respect to moral con- 
duct, doctrine, and discipline. 1806. 

IV. Q. What further regulations are adopted with respect 
to our Missions ? 

A. 1. No person shall be employed in any of our Mis- 
sions at home or abroad, who is not deemed perfectly proper 
to be employed in our regular Circuits, when the Conference 
shall so determine. 

2. The Preachers on trial, who shall be sent on Foreign 
Missions, in this or any future year, shall be subject, with 
respect to marriage, to all the Rules which apply to Preachers 
on trial in this country ; the exemption formerly allowed 
to our Foreign Missionaries being hereby repealed, with 
respect to those who may be hereafter sent out. 

3. The Public Collections are to be made, as usual in all 
our Congregations. 

N. B. 1. The Conference determines that none of our 
Preachers employed in the West Indies, shall be at liberty 
to marry any person, who will not previously emancipate, in 
the legal methods, all the slaves of whom she may be pos- 
sessed : and if any of our Brethren there , already married 
have, by such marriage, or in any other way, become pro- 
G 2 



ISO 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 



prietors of slaves, we require those Brethren to take imme- 
diate and effectual steps for their emancipation. 

2. The Secretary of our Missionary Committee in Lon- 
don, is directed to send a copy of this Minute to every 
Preacher in the West Indies, and to require a report next 
year of the manner in which it has been obeyed. 1S07. 

V. Q. What new Regulations are necessary on the sub- 
ject of Missions? 

A. 1. Let no Preacher be sent on any Foreign Mission 
unless he be first proposed to, and approved by", the Con- 
ference. 

2. Let all our Missions be placed on the same plan, both 
as to government and pecuniary support. 

3. Let the Committee make all such retrenchments in the 
different departments as may be found consistent with the 
glory and work of God. 

4. Let a General Superintendent for the West-India 
Missions be appointed ; if a suitable person can be found 
who is willing to go in that capacity : and be changed every 
two or three years as may be deemed best. 

5. One general District-Meeting shall be annually held 
in the Leeward and Windward Islands, in the month of 
April, in lieu of the three District-Meetings which have 
been held there of late years. The power of this Meeting, 
in the way of censure, shall not extend farther than to sus- 
pension. They shall form and transmit a plan of Stations, 
for the inspection and approbation, or rejection, in whole or 
in part, of the British Conference. And they are further 
expected to forward all possible information, on every point 
of importance connected with the Missions, to the Com- 
mittee and the Conference. 1812. 

VI. It is resolved, that no part of the Missionary Col- 
lection shall, from this time, be applied, either to defray 
the expense of the rents of the Houses in which our Mis- 
sionaries preach, or to supply the deficiencies of Interest 
of any Monies due upon the Chapels in which thev officiate. 
1813. 

VII. Q. What plan shall now be adopted, in consequence 
of the death of Dr. Coke, the late General Superintendent 
of the Methodist Missions, for the future management of 
those important concerns. 

A. 1. All our Missions shall be subject, as heretofore, 
to the general direction of the Conference, under whose 
authority the Missionaries have engaged in the work, and 
who are responsible to them for the provision of the ne- 
cessary supplies, during the continuance of their engage- 
ments. 

2. The spiritual concerns of the Missions shall be under 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 131 

the exclusive superintendence of the Conference ; who shall, 
in particular, have the sole right of selecting and appointing 
Missionaries, according to the established Rules respecting 
the admission of Preachers into the Body, — of stationing, 
from year to year, the Missionaries so appointed, — and of 
trying, censuring, or recalling them, whenever such mea- 
sures may seem expedient. 

3. Two Joint-Treasurers for our General Missionary 
Fund, shall be annually chosen by the Conference ; one of 
whom, for the convenience of the Missionaries, shall be a 
Travelling Preacher stationed in London ; the other, a re- 
spectable Member of our Society, not a Travelling Preacher. 

4. The General Treasurers shall appoint a Banker, with 
whom the)'' shall open an account, and in whose hands all 
monies received by them, for the support of the Missions, 
shall be regularly placed. No monies, so deposited, shall 
be withdrawn from the Bank, without the mutual consent 
of the two Treasurers ; except when one of them is absent, 
and Bills are presented, which absolutely require immediate 
payment. And in such excepted cases, the sums drawn 
out by a separate, order shall be specially notified to the 
Committee at their next meeting. 

5. A General Report of the State of our Missions shall be 
annually prepared by the Executive Committee, and, if ap- 
proved by the Committee of Examination and Finance, and 
by the Conference, shall be published and circulated. To 
this Report shall be appended, as usual, the Accounts of 
Receipts and Disbursement, as examined and audited by the 
last-mentioned Committee. 

6. We recommend to our Preachers and People the es- 
tablishment of Missionary Prayer-Meetings, to be held in 
our Chapels once a month, wherever it can be made con- 
venient. 

7. No Missionary in the West Indies, Newfoundland, 
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada, or Bermuda, shall 
be permitted to draw a Bill for more than Fifty Pounds at 
one time, without previous advice and explanation of the 
extraordinary nature and circumstances of the case. No 
Missionary stationed in the East shall be permitted to draw 
a Bill for more than one hundred and fifty pounds at one 
time, without similar advice and explanation. And where 
there are more than one Preacher on the particular station, 
at which any such Bill is drawn, all their names shall be 
affixed to the Bill. IS 15. 

VIII. Q. What directions shall be given respecting our 
Missionary Affairs in general? 

A. On hearing the Reports of the Missionary Committees, 
the Conference resolves : 



132 WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

1. That no monies whatsoever shall be paid to the Mis- 
sionaries in the West Indies, either from the produce of 
Book-sales, or from any other source, for any other pur- 
poses than those which are ordinary and regular, until the 
approbation of the Committee at home has been first asked 
and obtained. All proposals for extraordinary allowances, 
whether for afflictions, or any other similar purposes, shall 
be entered upon the District-Minutes, but not acted upon 
until sanctioned by the Committee. The only exception 
alio we \ from the operation of this Rule, shall be the annual 
payment of such sum as may be immediately wanted for 
the use of the vessel employed in bringing the Missionaries 
from the several Islands to the District-Meeting, and in 
conveying them to their new appointments. 

2. That all monies intended for the Mission-Fund shall 
be remitted in a distinct and separate manner, unmixed 
with monies belonging to any other Fund ; and that our 
Friends be requested to address such remittances to the 
General Treasurers for the Missions, and not to any other 
person ; in order to prevent mistakes and delays. 1816. 

IX. Q. What directions shall be given respecting our 
Missionary Affairs in general ? 

A. 1. When any Preachers who are already employed 
in the work at home, offer themselves at their respective 
District-Meetings for foreign service, the Chairman shall 
immediately transmit an account of such offers to the Com- 
mittee in London, and shall state distinctly whether the 
Candidates can, or cannot, conveniently attend at the Con- 
ference then next ensuing. In the case of those who can 
attend the Conference, a Committee shall be then appointed, 
for the purpose of examining them as to their fitness for our 
foreign work, and shall report to the Conference the result 
of their examination. And in case of those who cannot 
attend the Conference for this purpose, they shall be 
directed to attend the Committee in London, in order to be 
examined by them, at such time as they shall appoint, pre- 
viously to the Meeting of the Conference. 

2. The Conference adopts the following Resolutions, 
unanimously recommended by the Preachers and other 
friends who composed this year the Committee of Exami- 
nation and Finance, and directs that they shall be forthwith 
carried into effect : viz. 

(1.) That in every District, where it; has not been already 
done, a District Missionary Society shall be immediately 
formed, under the direction of the Chairman of the District, 
and of the Executive Committee in London ; or that, at 
least, a District-Treasurer for contributions in aid of our 
Missions shall be appointed in every District, to whom all 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 133 

monies raised for the said Missions by any Branch Mis- 
sionary Society, within the limits of that District, shall be 
uniformly paid, so as to be remitted through that medium 
only to the General Treasurers. 

(2.) That even in Circuits where no Branch Missionary 
Society has yet been formed, all monies collected among us, 
in any mode whatsoever, for Missionary purposes, shall be 
uniformly paid to the Missionary Treasurer for the District, 
and by him remitted once in every Quarter, or oftener, to 
the General Treasurers. 

(3.) That all Missionary monies and accounts shall be 
strictly kept separate, by the Superintendents of the re- 
spective Circuits at home and abroad, from the monies and 
accounts of our Book-Room, and from all other monies, 
accounts, and collections whatsoever, according to the 
Minute of the Conference of last year. 

(4.) That the Missionaries shall be peremptorily pro- 
hibited from drawing Bills for Missionary expenses upon 
any other person than the General Treasurers ; and that, 
in order to prevent any such irregularities, printed Forms 
of Bills shall be forwarded to each Missionary Station ; of 
which Forms, and no others, the Missionaries shall be re- 
quired to make use, when they have occasion. 1817- 

X. Q. Is any alteration necessary in our Rule respecting 
the Marriages of Missionaries before the termination of 
their Probation ? 

A. On the recommendation of the late Committee of 
Examination and Finance, the Conference resolves, That if 
any Married Missionary, who has not previously travelled 
in a Circuit at home, be appointed to the British Colonies 
in America, or for the West Indies, — or, if a Single Mis- 
sionary, already employed in those Stations, be allowed by 
the Committee to marry before the term of his Probation 
shall be completed, — such Missionaries shall be required to 
engage, that they will stay on some Foreign Station four 
years longer, than the period of service usually required 
from Missionaries stationed, in those parts of the world ; — 
excepting only in the case of confirmed ill health. 1818. 

XL The General Committee having recommended, that 
the Accounts of all the Auxiliary and Branch Societies 
should be closed in future on December 25th, and that the 
Accounts of the General Wesleyan-Missionary Society 
should be closed on the 31st of December in each year, and 
having stated the advantages of a common date for all the 
Societies, — this Regulation is approved by the Conference. 
1820. 

XII. The Conference agrees, that, on account of the 
great increase of the business connected with our extensive 



ISA WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

Missions, and in compliance with the unanimous recom- 
mendation of the General Committee, the Three Preachers 
annually appointed as the Secretaries for that department, 
shall be wholly employed on the week-days, in the service 
of the Wesleyan-Missionary Society, and shall receive their 
support from its funds. — One of the Secretaries is to reside 
at the Mission-House, No. 77, Hatton-Garden, London; 
and to him all official letters are to be addressed. 1824. 

XIII. The fourth clause of the Rules made in the year 
1821, respecting appointments to certain offices (including 
that of Secretaries for our Missions), which enacts that 
" no Preacher shall ever be appointed to those offices for 
more than three years in succession, if, at the time of his 
appointment to it for the first year, he had been stationed 
as a Regular Preacher in any of the London Circuits for 
the two preceding years,"— is now rescinded ; and it is re- 
solved, that six years shall be the only term of absolute 
limitation, in reference to the appointment of our Missionary 
Secretaries. 1824. 

XIV. An unmarried Preacher shall, for this year, be 
appointed to reside in Ireland, as Agent of our Missionary 
Committee : whose business it shall be to superintend, 
under the direction of the Committee, the Mission-Schools 
recently established in that Country, and to make regular 
reports of his own proceedings, and of the state and progress 
of the Schools. 1824. 

XV. Q. What is the judgment of the Conference on 
the proceedings of some of our Missionaries in Jamaica, 
who published, in the month of September, 1824, certain 
Resolutions on the subject of Slavery ? 

A. 1. The Conference deeply regrets, that, in those 
Resolutions, the individuals concerned were not content 
with defending the object of their Mission, and their own 
characters, against the defamations of the Public Papers of 
that Island ; but unhappily so expressed themselves as to 
compromise the principles of Christianity on the subject of 
Slavery; and most unwarrantably reflected upon the motives 
and proceedings of those eminent persons, in this country, 
who are so honourably exerting their influence for the 
peaceful and legal termination of that state of bondage 
which exists in the West Indian Colonies. 

2. The Conference fully and unanimously confirms the 
Disavowal of the Jamaica Resolutions, which was published 
by the Wesleyan Missionary Committee in January last. 

3. The Conference resolves to record its especial appro- 
bation of the judicious and discriminating manner in which 
the Missionary Committee, in the Disavowal just men- 
tioned, have stated and enforced, on the one hand, the 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 135 

Christian duty of the Slaves in our Colonies to yield obe- 
dience to their Masters, and the equally Christian duty of 
the religious public at home, on the other hand, to promote 
by legislative measures the ultimate extinction of the system 
of slavery. 

4. The Conference has noticed with peculiar displeasure 
and indignation that part of the Jamaica Resolutions, which 
intimates that the sentiments therein contained are those of 
the Methodist Body at large; nothing being more contrary 
to the writings of our venerable Founder, and to the views 
Avhich our Societies in general maintain to this day, than 
the notion that it is in any sense consistent with the spirit 
or the laws of Christianity to enslave our fellow-men, or to 
retain them in interminable bondage. The Slavery of the 
Negroes this Conference considers to be one of the most 
heinous of our public offences; the principle of which it 
becomes us as a nation instantly and heartily to renounce, 
and the practice of which we are equally bound to discon- 
tinue, as speedily as a prudent and benevolent regard to the 
interests of those, who are the subjects of this oppression, 
will permit. 

5. Finally, the Conference unanimously approves of 
those Acts of Discipline, which were promptly adopted, in 
reference to the Missionaries concerned, on this painful 
occasion. 1825. 

XVI. Q. What measures can be adopted in order to 
meet the wishes, expressed by several very respectable 
Districts, for a more easy and systematic method of pro- 
curing suitable assistance at our Missionary Anniversaries ? 

A. The Plan of Annual Deputations shall be again tried ; 
but on a more limited scale than formerly, and with such 
modifications as, it is hoped, may render it more accept- 
able and efficient. The following Regulations are recom- 
mended : — 

1. Let Deputations be appointed for the Anniversaries 
of District Auxiliary Societies only ; or to include, at most, 
such of the principal and most productive Branch- Societies 
in each District, as may usually be attended, without 
detaining the persons who compose the Deputations from 
the duties of their own Circuits for more than one Sabbath 
at a time. 

2. Let not more than two Preachers be appointed on any 
such Deputation, as representatives of the General Com- 
mittee. Where additional help is indispensably required, 
let that of other Preachers be solicited, as formerlv, by 
the Local Committees of the Auxiliary or Branch-So- 
cieties themselves, acting in conjunction with their Su- 
perintendents. 



136 WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

3. Those Branch-Societies, who cannot conveniently ob- 
tain the attendance of Deputations acting on behalf of the 
General Committee, are requested to make competent pro- 
vision for their own Anniversaries, as heretofore, by timely 
applications to other Preachers ; and especially to those 
who are stationed in their own respective Districts or 
neighbourhoods. 

4. It is recommended to the General Committee and 
Secretaries, in the appointment of Deputations, and to the 
Local Committees, in the invitation of other assistants, to 
pay as strict an attention to economy, in the expenditure 
both of time and of money, as a proper regard to the peculiar 
circumstances of each Society, and to the success of the 
several Anniversaries, will admit. 

5. As mutual consultation, on the part of the various 
Circuits of each District, in reference to the periods at 
which their Anniversaries may best be held, would, in many 
cases, produce a considerable saving, both of money to the 
Fund, and of time to the Preachers appointed or invited to 
visit them, — it is desirable that each Auxiliary and Branch 
Committee should meet, to deliberate on that subject, as 
soon as convenient after every Conference ; in order that 
the Preachers and Circuit-Stewards, who compose the 
Financial District-Meetings, annually held in September, 
may report the views and wishes of the different Commit- 
tees in their District, so as to facilitate some general ar- 
rangement, satisfactory and advantageous to all the So- 
cieties engaged in this good work. 1825. 

XVII. Q. What further Rule is necessary respecting the 
Return of Missionaries from Foreign Stations to this 
Country. 

A. It is resolved, That every Missionary, who shall, in 
future, return home, without the consent of the Missionary 
Committee, except in case of extreme danger through sick- 
ness, shall be considered as having thereby excluded him- 
self from our Connexion. 1825. 

XVIII. Q. What regulations shall be adopted as to the 
appointment, stay, and return of our Foreign Missionaries ? 

A. 1. No Preacher shall be appointed to a Foreign Sta- 
tion until he has travelled four years at home, and is re- 
ceived into Full Connexion : excepting, (1,) when there are 
such urgent and pressing calls from abroad as cannot be 
met but by the appointment of Preachers who are on Trial, 
or on the List of Reserve ; or, (2,) when any candidates for 
our Missionary work may be deemed sufficiently fitted for 
it at an earlier period. 

2. The offer of every candidate for our Missionary work 
shall be carefully and distinctly recorded in the Minutes 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 137 

of the District-Meeting by which he is recommended ; and 
the Chairman shall transmit, without delay, a copy of such 
record to the Missionary Secretaries in London. 

3. In all cases in which the Missionary Exaniining- 
Committee (consisting of the Preachers of the two London 
Districts) may deem it convenient or expedient, they shall, 
before the meeting of Conference, examine the candidates 
who may be recommended by the Districts, that they may 
determine on the propriety or inexpediency of their being 
proposed for admission on trial as Missionaries. 

4. Every candidate examined and approved by the Mis- 
sionary Committee, shall sign an agreement written in a 
book to be kept for that purpose, that he will enter upon 
the foreign work at the expiration of his four years of pro- 
bation, or at an earlier period, if the Committee, in con- 
junction with the President of the Conference for the time 
being, shall so appoint ; and that he will take no steps 
towards marriage without the advice of, the Missionary 
Secretaries and of his Superintendent. 

5. The Missionary Secretaries shall have a general over- 
sight of those candidates for our foreign work who may be 
stationed in any of our regular Circuits at home ; and shall 
furnish them with suitable books for their general improve- 
ment ; which books shall be considered as a part of their 
usual outfit when they go abroad. The Secretaries shall 
also supply them with other books necessary for the acqui- 
sition of any living language, or of any particular branch 
of knowledge, to which they may be directed by the Com- 
mittee to turn their attention ; but books of the latter 
class shall not be considered as a part of their ordinary 
book-outfit. 

6. In the third or fourth year of the probation of such 
candidates, the Committee shall be empowered to place 
those of them who may be deemed eligible for stations 
which require special literary qualifications, under more 
regular and systematic instruction, either under the care 
of such Preachers in different Circuits as may be selected 
for that purpose, or in London, under the direction of the 
Secretaries, who shall obtain for them such assistance as 
may be deemed necessary. 

7. The Superintendents of Circuits in which Missionary 
candidates may be employed, or under whose care they 
may be placed, shall regularly forward to the Missionary 
Committee quarterly reports of their diligence, improve- 
ment, and general conduct. 

8. The stations of our Missionaries are in all cases de- 
termined by the Conference and the Committee ; who, 
nevertheless, will take into careful consideration the views 



138 WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

and feelings of those who may think that they have a spe- 
cial providential call to any particular station, or field of 
labour. 

9. The term of the service of our Missionaries abroad 
shall be regulated by the circumstances of the stations to 
which they may be appointed ; which circumstances ap- 
pear to divide the stations at present occupied into three 
classes : — 

(1.) Stations chiefly tropical, or unfriendly to health, and 
which afford few or no opportunities for the education and 
settlement of children. To this class belong the West 
Indies, Honduras, Hayti, Continental India, and Ceylon. 
In these countries the minimum of service shall be ten years, 
commencing at the time of the Missionary's departure from 
this country. 

(2.) Stations which are in the main healthy, where edu- 
cation may be had for children, and where they may pro- 
bably be settled in life with comfortable prospects. To 
this class belong British America, New South Wales, and 
Van Diemen's Land ; and also South Africa, within the 
Cape Colony, or within a moderate distance of any of its 
settlements. In these the minimum of service shall be 
twenty years from the time of departure. 

(3.) Stations, which from their peculiar unhealthiness, 
danger, and hardship ; or, on the other hand, from their 
proximity to this country, and other favourable circum- 
stances, may be considered special, and proper to be placed 
under various regulations. To this class belong Labrador, 
Western Africa, parts of Southern Africa at a considerable 
distance from the Colony, New Zealand, and the Friendly 
Islands, and also the more proximate stations in the Medi- 
terranean, France, Sweden, &c. The stay of Missionaries 
in Western Africa and Gibraltar shall be as hitherto de- 
termined ; viz., in the former, two years, and the latter, 
three years, from the time of departure. In all other sta- 
tions of this class, the period of stay shall be arranged as 
those stations approach to, or recede from, the first and 
second classes in their circumstances, or as particular oc- 
currences may suggest. 

A list of the stations, thus classified, shall be inserted in 
the Minute-Book of the Committee, with the period of stay 
attached to each of them ; and every additional permanent 
station taken up shall be placed in its own class, or under 
its own exception, in this list, as soon as the proper infor- 
mation concerning its circumstances can be obtained ; so 
that every Missionary may fully understand his engage- 
ments at the time when he enters upon his work. 

10. The majority of Missionaries, it is presumed, who 



WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 139 

have completed their probation at home, will marry prior 
to their entrance upon the foreign work ; but in the case of 
any one going abroad unmarried, the following regulations 
are adopted : — 

(1.) If he be appointed to the West Indies, Honduras- 
Bay, or Hayti, he shall be allowed, if he think proper to 
request it, to return home at the end of four years, in 
order to marry ; provided he engage to resume his station 
abroad at the expiration of, at most, one year, and to serve 
eight years from the period of his second appointment. 

(2.) If he be appointed to Ceylon, or Continental India, 
he shall be allowed, if he request it, to visit his native 
country for the same purpose at the termination of six 
years ; provided he engage to return to a foreign station at 
the end of one year, and to serve eight years from the 
period of his second appointment. 

(3.) If he be appointed to stations of the third or special 
class, he is left to negotiate this affair with the Committee. 

(4.) On account of the difference of circumstances, no 
arrangement is made for the temporary return of Mission- 
aries from the stations in British America ; each of whom 
will be required to remain abroad until the expiration of 
the entire period of his engagement. 

(5.) Cases of failure of health, and of peculiar circum- 
stances, are left, as before, to the discretion and manage- 
ment of the Missionary Committee. 1827 



140 



mje people. 



As the "Large Minutes," published by Mr. Wesley, 
contain the principles by which the Preachers are governed ; 
so the " Plan of Pacification,"* agreed upon between 

* This solemn treaty was entered into between the Conference and 
several hundred Trustees and other principal friends, who met at Man- 
chester, in 1795. " When we assembler!," say the Conference of that 
year, " our hearts were most deeply touched with the awful situation of 
our affairs. We trembled at the thought of a division, and its dreadful 
consequences; and, therefore, determined to set apart the first day of the 
Conference, as a dav of solemn and real fasting and prayer. God was, 
indeed, in the midst of us ; and we all felt a confidence, that a solid 
foundation would be laid for lasting pep ce and unity. When the Con- 
ference met on the second day, we saw the necessity of appointing a 
Committee to prepare a plan of general pacification ; and, that the Cum- 
mittee might be men of our own choice, in the fullest sense of the words, 
we resolved that they should be chosen by ballot. Every Preacher, 
therefore, in Full Connexion, gave in nine papers, with a name upou 
each (nine being the predetermined number of the Committee). The 
Committee accordingly met six evenings successively. Their plan was 
at last completed, and laid before the Conference, who, with the alteration 
of a single article, passed them unanimously. After this two or three 
articles more were agreed upon, under the title of Addenda, in order to 
give the comnletest satisfaction, and to remove every obstacle to a lasting 
peace." " The plan," says Mr. Myles, " having obtained the unanimous 
approbation of the Conference, was presented to the Meeting of Trustees, 
and with a few additions proposed by them, and acceded to by the Con- 
ference, was accepted by a large majority." 

In reference to the Plan of Pacification, Mr. Jonathan Edmondson 
observes, in a letter dated Jan. 15, 1835, and published in the Wesley an 
Methodist Magazine : — " It happens, that no man living, I believe, knows 
the origin of that Plan but myself: and I do declare, in the fear of God, 
that it originated with the Preachers. The following is a correct state- 
ment: — I was stationed in London, under the Superintenrlency of the 
Rev. William Thompson, in the year 1794; and, as he had a shaking in 
his hand, by an attack of the palsy, I was his amanuensis all the year. 
One morning, as we were walking in the streets of London, to give tickets 
after the five o'clock service in Snow's Fields, he asked me what could be 
done to reconcile the Preachers and the people in the painful struggle of 
that day. I replied in some such words as these, ' Sir, I am at a loss 
how to answer you ; but I am of opinion, that you can form some ge- 
neral Plan of Pacification.' He then told me, what had occurred to him 
in thinking on the subject ; and expressed a wish that I would write out 



PLAN OF PACIFICATION. 141 

the Preachers and the People in the year 1795, and the 
subsequent " Regulations made at Leeds/' in the 
year 1797, constitute a basis cf the government of the So- 
cieties. 



THE PLAN OF PACIFICATION. 

I. Concerning the Lord's Supper, Baptism, &c. 

1. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, shall not* 1 be 
administered in any Chapel, except a majority of the 
Trustees of that Chapel on the one hand, and the majority 
of the Stewards and Leaders belonging to that Chapel (as 
the best qualified to give the sense of the people) on the 
other hand, allow of it. Nevertheless, in all cases, the 
consent of the Conference shall be first obtained, before 
the Lord's Supper be administered. 

2. Wherever there is a Society but no Chapel, if the 
majority of the Stewards and Leaders of that Society testify, 
that it is the wish of the people that the Lord's Supper 
should be administered to them, their desire shall be 
granted, provided that the consent of the Conference be 
first obtained. 

3. Provided, nevertheless, that in Mount-Pleasant Chapel 
at Liverpool, and in all other Chapels where the Lord's 
Supper has been already peaceably administered, the admi- 
nistration of it shall be continued in future. 

4. The administration of Baptism, the Burial of the Dead, 
and service in Church hours, shall be determined according 
to the regulations above mentioned. 

5. Whenever the Lord's Supper shall be administered 
according to the above-mentioned Regulations it shall 
always be continued, except the Conference order the 
contrary. 

6. The Lord's Supper shall be administered by those only 
who are authorised by the Conference : and at such times 
and in such manner only, as the Conference shall appoint. 

for him an outline of his plan on our return home. We spent several 
days in drawing it up ; and, when it was finished, I sent copies to many 
of our venerable fathers, particularly to Messrs. Mather, Pawson, Ben- 
son, and Dr. Coke. When the Conference met in 1795, the Plan was 
laid before a Select Committee, chosen by ballot, and was altered in a few 
particulars ; but that which I drew up for Mr. Thompson is substantially 
the same as that which was finally adopted by the Conference ; and, I 
really believe, though I was not present, that it met with the cordial 
approbation, not only of our influential men, but of the whole Con- 
ference.'' 

The Plan of Pacification was proposed to the Irish Conference, in 
1796, but they refused to adopt it, by saying, in their Minutes, " It was 
not expedient at present." 



142 PLAN OF PACIFICATION. 

7. The administration of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 
according to the above Regulations, is intended only for the 
members of our own society. 

S. We agree that the Lord's Supper be administered 
among us, on Sunday evenings only ; except where the 
majority of the Stewards and Leaders desire it in Church 
hours ; or where it has already been administered in these 
hours. Nevertheless, it shall never be administered on 
those Sundays on which it is administered in the Parish 
Church. 

9. The Lord's Supper shall always be administered in 
England, according to the form of the Established Church : 
but the person who administers shall have liberty to give 
out hymns, to use exhortation, and extemporary prayer. 

10. Wherever Divine Service is performed in England 
on the Lord'-day, in Church hours, the officiating Preacher 
shall read either the service of the Church, our venerable 
Father's abridgment, or, at least, the lessons appointed by 
the calendar. But we recommend either the full service or 
the abridgment. 

11. Concerning Discipline. 

1. The appointment of the Preachers shall remain solely 
with the Conference : and no Trustee, or number of Trus- 
tees, shall expel or exclude from their Chapel, or Chapels, 
any Preacher so appointed. 

2. Nevertheless, if the majority of the Trustees, or the 
majority of the Stewards and Leaders of any Society, believe 
that any Preacher appointed for their Circuit is immoral, 
erroneous in doctrine, deficient in abilities, or that he has 
broken any of the Rules above mentioned, they shall have 
authority to summon the Preachers of the District, and all 
the Trustees, Stewards, and Leaders of that Circuit, to meet 
in their Chapel, on a day and hour appointed (sufficient 
time being given). The Chairman of the District shall be 
President of the assembly : and every Preacher, Trustee, 
Steward, and Leader, shall have a single vote, the Chair- 
man possesing the casting voice. And if the majority of 
the meeting judge that the accused Preacher is immoral, 
erroneous in doctrine, deficient in abilities, or has broken 
any of the Rules above mentioned, he shall be considered 
as removed from that Circuit. And the District-Committee 
shall, as soon as possible, appoint another Preacher for that 
Circuit, instead of the Preacher so removed; and shall 
determine among themselves how the removed Preacher 
shall be disposed of till the Conference ; and shall have 
authority to suspend the said Preacher from all public 
duties, till the Conference, if they think proper. The 
District-Committee shall also supply, as well as possible, 



FLAN OF PACIFICATION. 143 

the place of the removed Preacher, till another Preacher 
be appointed. And the Preacher thus appointed, and all 
other Preachers, shall be subject to the above mode of 
trial. And if the District-Committee do not appoint a 
Preacher for that Circuit, instead of the removed Preacher, 
within a month after thd aforesaid removal, or do not fill 
up the place of the removed Preacher, till another Preacher 
be appointed, the majority of the said Trustees, Stewards, 
and Leaders, being again regularly summoned, shall ap- 
point a Preacher for the said Circuit, provided he be a 
member of the Methodist Connexion, till the next Con- 
ference. 

3. If any Preacher refuse to submit to the above mode 
of trial, in any of the cases mentioned above, he shall be 
considered as suspended till the next Conference. And if 
any Trustees expel from any Chapel a Preacher by their 
own separate authority, the Preachers appointed for that 
Circuit shall not preach in that Chapel till the next Con- 
ference, or till a trial takes place according to the mode 
mentioned above, 

4. If any Trustees expel or exclude a Preacher, by their 
own separate authority, from any Chapel, in any Circuit, 
the Chairman of the District shall summons the members 
of the District-Committee, the Trustees of that Circuit who 
have not offended, and the Stewards and Leaders of the 
Circuit. And the members of such assembly shall examine 
into the evidence on both sides ; and if the majority of 
them determine, that the state of the Society in which the 
exclusion took place, requires that a new Chapel should be 
built before the meeting of the next Conference, every 
proper step shall be immediately taken for erecting such 
Chapel. And no step shall, on any account, be taken to 
erect a Chapel for such purpose before the next Conference, 
till such a meeting be summoned, and such determination 
be made. 

5. No Preacher shall be suspended or removed from his 
Circuit by any District-Committee, except he have the pri- 
vilege of the trial before mentioned. 

6. The Hundred Preachers mentioned in the Enrolled 
Deed, and their successors, are the only legal persons who 
constitute the Conference. And we think the junior bre- 
thren have no reason to object to this proposition, as they 
are regularly elected according to seniority. 

7. Inasmuch as in drawing up the preceding Regula- 
tions, we have laboured to restore and preserve the peace 
and unity of the Society, and in order thereto, have endea- 
voured to keep the Preachers out of all disputes on the 
subjects therein specified: be it understood, that any 



144 PLAN OF PACIFICATION. 

Preacher who shall disturb the peace of the Society, by 
speaking for, or against, the introduction of the Lord's 
Supper in our Societies, or concerning the old or the new 
Plan, so called, shall be subject to the trial and penalties 
before mentioned. 

8. And in order that the utmost impartiality be manifest 
in these regulations fcr the peace of the whole Body, we 
also resolve, that if any Local Preacher, Trustee, Steward, 
or Leader, shall disturb the peace of the Society, by speak- 
ing for or against the introduction of the Lord's Supper, 
or concerning the old or the new Plan (so called), the 
Superintendent of the Circuit, or the majority of the 
Trustees, Stewards, and Leaders of the Society so disturbed, 
shall have authority to summon a meeting of the Tra- 
velling Preachers of the Circuit, and the Trustees, Stew- 
ards, and Leaders of that Society. Evidence shall be 
examined on both sides, and if the charge be proved, the 
Superintendent Preacher shall expel from the Society the 
person so offending. 

ADDENDA. 

1. The Conference by no means wishes to divide any 
Society, by the introduction of the Lord's Supper, and 
therefore, except that a majority of. the Stewards and 
Leaders, who desire the Lord's Supper among themselves, 
testify in writing to the Conference, that they are per- 
suaded that no separation will be made thereby, they will 
not allow it. 

2. The Sacrament shall not be administered to a Society 
in any private house, within two miles of the Methodist 
Chapel, in which it is regularly administered. 

3. We all agree, that the pulpit shall not be a vehicle of 
abuse. 

4. It has been our general custom, never to appoint or 
remove a Steward or Leader, without first consulting the 
Stewards and Leaders of that Society ; and we are resolved 
to walk by the same Rule. 

5. To prevent, as much as possible, the progress of strife 
and debate, and consequent divisions in our Connexion, no 
pamphlet, or printed letter, shall be circulated among us 
without the author's name, and the postage or carriage paid. 

6. Nothing contained in these Rules shall be construed 
to violate the rights of the Trustees, as expressed in their 
respective deeds. 

Thus, beloved brethren, have we done our utmost to 
satisfy every party, and to unite the whole. You, by your 
Trustees on the one hand, and your proper representatives, 
the Leaders and Stewards, on the other, are to determine 



PLAN OF PACIFICATION. 145 

concerning the introduction of the Sacraments, or the 
Service in Church hours, among yourselves. We have 
gone abundantly farther. We have, in some degree, de- 
posited our characters and usefulness in your hands, or 
the hands of your representatives, by making them judges 
of our morals, doctrines, and gifts. We apprehend that 
we could have made no farther sacrifice, without sapping 
the foundations of Methodism, and particularly destroying 
the itinerant plan. O brethren, be as zealous for peace 
and unity in your respective Societies, as your Preachers 
have been in this blessed Conference. Let the majorities 
and minorities on both sides, exercise the utmost forbear- 
ance towards each other : let them mutually concede one 
to the other as far as possible ; and, by thus bearing each 
other's burdens, fulfil the law of Christ. Let all resent- 
ment be buried in eternal oblivion ; and let contention 
and strife be for ever banished from the borders of our 
Israel. 

Manchester, August 6, 1795. 



Q. What can be done to prevent unruly or unthinking 
men from disturbing our people ? 

A. Let no man, nor number of men, in our Connexion, 
on any account or occasion, circulate letters, call meetings, 
do, or attempt to do, any thing new, till it has been first 
appointed by the Conference.* 1796. 

* The omission of the above regulation in the first edition of the 
"Digest," was for the following reasons : — First, As being superseded by 
the Regulations adopted at Leeds, obtained by the remonstrance of the 
people, who considered the above rule as a resumption by the Preachers 
of what was previously conceded in 1795 ; and as being resumed by the 
exclusive authority of the Preachers, without the consent of the people. 
Secondly, Because in the regulations made at Leeds in 1797, the following 
one was especially entered in the Minutes of Conference, which excludes 
the Minute of 1796 : — " We have determined, that all the Rides which 
relate to the Societies, Leaders, Stewards, Local Preachers, Trustees, and 
Quarterly-Meetings, shall be published, with the Rules of the Society, 
for the benefit and convenience of all the members." As the above regu- 
lation of 1796 is not published with " the Rules of the Society," the coi> 
elusion is inevitable. 



H 



146 
REGULATIONS MADE AT LEEDS. 

TO THE METHODIST SOCIETIES. 

Dear Brethren, 

We think it our duty to inform you, by the earliest 
opportunity, of the measures we have taken,* in order to 
satisfy those of our Brethren, who have been made more or 
less uneasy, by sundry publications circulated through the 
Societies ; and, we trust, that on a serious consideration of 
the Regulations we have agreed to at this Conference, you 
will see that the sacrifices in respect to authority, which 
we have made on the part of the whole body of Travelling 
Preachers, evidence our willingness to meet our Brethren 
in every thing which is consistent with the existence of the 
Methodist discipline, and our readiness to be their servants 
for Jesus's sake. 

I. In respect to finances, or money matters. 

1 . We have determined to publish annually a very minute 
account of the disbursement, or application of the Yearly 
Collection : and, 

2. A full account of the affairs of Kingswood School. 

3. That all bills for the support of Travelling Preachers, 
and their families, in respect to deficiencies, house-rent, 
fire, candles, sickness, travelling expenses, and all other 
matters of a temporal kind for their support, for which the 
Circuits cannot provide, shall first meet with the approba- 
tion of the Quarterly-Meeting, and be signed by the General 
Steward of the Circuit, before they can be brought to the 
District- Committee. 

II. In respect to all other temporal matters : 

1. It has been determined, that no Circuits shall be di- 
vided, till such division has been approved of by their 
respective Quarterly-Meetings, and signed by the General 
Stewards. 

2. That no other temporal matter shall be transacted by 
the District Committees, till the approbation of the respec- 

* About two hundred Trustees, Delegates from all parts of the king- 
dom, assembled at Leeds during the sittings of Conference, in 1797. 
They numbered amongst them the Authors of many able Pamphlets and 
Resolutions on the subject of Methodistic government, and were masters 
of the subject. The Conference entered into a further treaty with these 
Delegates, containing, under distinct heads, many stipulations of vital 
importance, touching financial and all other temporal matters, the admis- 
sion and expulsion of members, the appointment and removal of Leaders, 
Stewards, and Local Preachers, &c. &c. These stipulations which were 
published in a printed Circular, and forwarded to the Circuits before 
the Conference broke up, were wrung from the Conference by the people. 



REGULATIONS MADE AT LEEDS. 147 

tive Quarterly-Meetings be first given, signed by the Cir- 
cuit Stewards. 

III. In respect to the receiving and excluding private 
members of the Society : 

1. The Leaders'-Meeting shall have a right to declare 
any person on trial, improper to be received into the So- 
ciety : and, after such declaration, the Superintendent shall 
not admit such person into the Society. 

2. No person shall be expelled from the Society for 
immorality, till such immorality be proved at a Leaders'- 
Meeting. 

IV. In respect to the appointment and removal of 
Leaders, Stewards, and Local Preachers, and concerning 
meetings : 

1. No person shall be appointed a Leader or Steward, or 
be removed from his office, but in conjunction with the 
Leaders'-Meeting : the nomination to be in the Superin- 
tendent, and the approbation or disapprobation in the 
Leaders'-Meeting. 

2. The former Rule concerning Local Preachers is con- 
firmed : viz. That no person shall receive a plan as a Local 
Preacher, without the approbation of a Local Preacher's 
Meeting. 

3. In compliance with a request made by the Committee 
of persons from various parts, namely, " That the Confer- 
ence be requested to re-consider and revise those Rules, 
which relate to the calling of meetings, and appointing 
Local Preachers, made last year," we say, " No Local 
Preacher shall be permitted to preach in any other Circuit 
than his own, without producing a recommendation from 
the Superintendent of the Circuit in which he lives : nor 
suffer any invitation to be admitted as a plea, but from men 
in office, who act in conjunction with the Superintendent of 
that Circuit which he visits." The design of this Rule is 
to prevent any, under the character of Local Preachers, 
from burdening the people, either by collecting money, or 
by living upon them : and to prevent improper persons, 
who bear no part of the expense, from inviting Local 
Preachers thus to visit them. But it never was intended 
to reflect the least disrespect on any of our worthy brethren, 
the Local Preachers, who, considered as a Body, we greatly 
respect. And it should not be lost sight of, that several of 
the most respectable Local Preachers in the kingdom, 
who were in the Committee which met the Committee of 
Preachers appointed by the Conference, declared their 
high approbation of the Rule, and desired that it might 
be strengthened as much as possible, as none could justly 
complain of it. 



148 REGULATIONS MADE AT LEEDS. 

4. As the Committee above-mentioned requested also, 
that the Minutes of the last Conference concerning the 
calling of Meetings to consider of the affairs of the Society 
or Connexion be explained ; and as we are exceedingly- 
desirous of preserving the peace and union of the whole 
Body, we have agreed upon the following explanation: viz. 

(1.) As the Leaders'-Meeting is the proper meeting for 
the Society, and the Quarterly-Meeting for the Circuit, we 
think that other formal Meetings, in general, would be 
contrary to the Methodist economy, and very prejudicial 
in their consequences : But, 

(2.) In order to be as tender as possible, consistently with 
what we believe to be essential to the welfare of our So- 
cieties, we allow, that other formal meetings may be held, 
if they first receive the approbation of the Superintendent, 
and the Leader's or Quarterly-Meeting ; provided also that 
the Superintendent, if he please, be present at every such 
Meeting. 

V. We have selected all our ancient Rules, which were 
made before the death of our late venerable Father in the 
Gospel, the Rev. Mr. Wesley, which are essential Rules, or 
prudential at this present time ; and have solemnly signed 
them,* declaring our approbation of them, and determina- 
tion to comply with them ; one single Preacher excepted,f 
who, in consequence, withdrew from us. 

YI. We have determined, that all the Rules which relate 
to the Societies, Leaders, Stewards, Local Preachers, Trus- 
tees, and Quarterly-Meetings, shall be published with the 
Rules of the Society, for the benefit and convenience of all 
the Members. 

VII. In respect to all new Rules, which shall be made 
by the Conference. 

It is determined, that if at any time the Conference see 
it necessary to make any new Rule for the Societies at 
large, and such Rule should be objected to, at the first 

* The following Is the declaration which was subscribed by one hun- 
dred and forty five Preachers, including the President and Secretary of 
the Conference. It is dated August 1st, 1797: — " Whereas we, the un- 
dersigned, have, on this and the preceding day, carefully revised the rules 
drawn up and left us by our late venerable Father in the Gospel, the Rev. 
Mr. Wesley, which were published by him in our Large Minutes, to 
which we consented when we were admitted, and by which we were re- 
gulated during his life : and whereas we have collected together those 
rules which we believe to be essential to the existence of Methodism, as 
well as others to which we have no objection, we do now voluntarily 
and in good faith sign our names, as approving of and engaging to com- 
ply with the aforesaid collection of rules, or code of laws, God being our 
helper!" 

t Before the Conference concluded, two other Preachers withdrew. 



REGULATIONS MADE AT LEEDS. 14 

Quarterly-Meeting in any given Circuit ; and if the major 
part of that meeting, in conjunction with the Preachers, be 
of opinion, that the enforcing of such Rule in that Circuit 
will be injurious to the prosperity of that Circuit, it shall 
not be enforced in opposition to the judgment of such 
Quarterly-Meeting, before the second Conference. But, if 
the Rule be confirmed by the second Conference, it shall 
be binding to the whole Connexion.* Nevertheless, the 
Quarterly-Meetings, rejecting a new Rule, shall not, by 
publications, public meetings, or otherwise, make that 
Rule a cause of contention ; but shall strive, by every 
means, to preserve the peace of the Connexion. 

Thus, brethren, we have given up the greatest part of 
our executive government into your hands, as represented 
in your different public Meetings. 

1. We have delivered the whole of our Yearly Collection 
to your management. For we know, by experience, that 
the bills of the Quarterly-Meetings, if only mere justice be 
done to the Preachers and their families, will amount to 
much more than the Yearly Collection. The Conference, 
will, in this business, have no authority whatsoever. They 
will have nothing but the trouble of receiving the money, 
and paying the bills which shall have been sent to them 
from the Quarterly-Meetings, and been approved of by the 
District-Committees. And when the accounts are pub- 
lished by the Conference, every Quarterly-Meeting may 
compare its own accounts with those of the Conference, 
and thereby have as complete a check as the nature of 
things can possibly admit of. 

The Conference has reserved to itself the management 
of its own Book-concerns. This is most reasonable ; as 
the institution was established for the carrying on of the 
work of God, under the direction of Mr. Wesley and the 
Conference ; was continued, by the Deed or codicil of Mr. 
Wesley's will, for the use of the Conference ; as the whole 
burden of the management of the business lies upon the 
Conference, and the servants they employ, and on the Su- 
perintendents of Circuits ; and also, as it is the only Fund 
which can supply any deficiencies of the Yearly Collection, 
as the accounts published in our Minutes for several years 
past clearly evidence ; the Yearly Collection having not 
been nearly sufficient for the wants of the Preachers and 
families, and for the carrying on of the Work of God in 
general. 

2. The whole management of our temporal concerns may 
now be truly said to be invested in the Quarterly-Meetings, 

* What, if the whole Connexion disapprove of it? 



150 REGULATIONS MADE AT LEEDS. 

the District-Meetings having nothing left them but a ne- 
gative. 

3. Our Societies have a full check on the Superintendent 
by means of their Leaders'-Meeting, in regard to the intro- 
duction of persons into Society ; whilst the Superintendent 
las sufficient scope allowed him for the increase of the 
k ocieties, not only according to the common course of 
things, but at the times of remarkable outpourings of the 
Spirit of God. 

4. The Members of our Societies are delivered from 
every apprehension of clandestine expulsions ; as that Su- 
perintendent would be bold indeed, who would act with 
partiality or injustice in the presence cf the whole Meeting 
of Leaders. Such a Superintendent, we trust, we have not 
among us ; and if such there ever should be, we should be 
ready to do all possible justice to our injured Brethren. 

5. There is now no Society-Officer among us, who can be 
received without the consent of that Mesting, to which he 
particularly belongs : nor can any officer be appointed, ex- 
cept upon the same plan. 

o\ In order to prevent any degree of precipitation in 
making new Rules, and to obtain information of the senti- 
ments of our people on every such Rule, we have agreed to 
the article mentioned under the Tth head, by which no Re- 
gulations will be finally confirmed, till after a year's consi- 
deration, and the knowledge of the sentiments of the Con- 
nexion at large, through the medium of all their public 
Officers. 

In short, Brethren, out of our great love for peace and 
union, and our great desire to satisfy your minds, we have 
given up to you far the greatest part of the Superintendent's 
authority: and, if we consider that the Quarterly-Meetings 
are the sources, from whence all temporal Regulations, 
during the intervals of the Conference, must now originally 
spring ; and also, that the Committee, formed according to 
the Plan of Pacification, can, in every instance, in which 
the Trustees, Leaders, and Stewards choose to interfere, re- 
specting the gifts, doctrines, or moral character of Preachers, 
supersede, in a great measure, the regular District-Com- 
mittees ; we may, taking all these things into our view, 
truly say, that such have been the sacrifices we have made, 
that our District- Committees themselves have hardly any 
authority remaining, but a bare negative in general, and the 
appointment of a representative to assist in drawing up the 
rough draught of the stations of the Preachers. And, be- 
sides all this, we have given the Quarterly-Meetings oppor- 
tunity of considering every new Law, of suspending the 
execution of it for a year in their respective Circuits, and 



t, ■ 



THE LEEDS CASE. 



151 



of sending their sentiments upon it to the Conference, be- 
fore it be finally confirmed. 

We have represented these measures which we have taken 
for your satisfaction, in as concise a manner as we well could, 
giving you the sense of the whole, not only for brevity's 
sake, but for expedition, that you may be informed of the 
general heads of our proceedings as soon as possible. In 
Regulations which will be published with the Rules of the 
Society, as mentioned above, you will have the whole at large. 

Leeds, August 7, 1797. 

Q. What is the judgment of the Conference re- 
specting the disputes, and consequent separation, which 
have occurred in our Societies in Leeds ? 

A. After a long and patient investigation of all the pro- 
ceedings in this case, and of the whole evidence and argu- 
ment adduced on both sides, the Conference have almost 
unanimously adopted the two following Resolutions : viz. 

1. That the most cordial thanks of the Conference be 
given to the Preachers of the two Leeds Circuits ; viz., the 
Rev. Messrs. Grindrod, Galland, and Close, of the East 
Circuit, and the Rev. Messrs. Turton, Hollingworth, and 
Isaac Keeling, of the West Circuit, for their Christian, 
affectionate, judicious and constitutional conduct, und°^ 
the very difficult and extraordinary circumstances in which 
they were placed during the past year ; and that, exposed 
as they have been to numerous, unjust, and unfounded 
calumnies, incurred solely by the faithful exercise of their 
duty, the Conference deems it proper, in order the more 
publicly to express its judgment on their character and 
general proceedings, to direct the insertion of this Resolu- 
tion in the printed Minutes. 

2. That it is the judgment of the Conference, that the 
Special District-Meeting, held in Leeds, was both indis- 
pensably necessary, and, in that most extraordinary emer- 
gency, constitutional also, under the Special Rules of 1797 ; 
— that the measures which that Meeting adopted, were 
fully justified by the circumstances of the case ; — and that 
the thanks of the Conference be presented to the brethren 
of the Leeds District ; and likewise to the late President, 
the Rev. John Stephens, and the late Secretary, the Rev. 
Jabez Bunting, and to the Rev. Messrs. Marsden, Burdsall, 
and Newton, for the efficient assistance which they af- 
forded on that occasion. 

* It was also further resolved, unanimously, 

3. That the Conference has beheld, with feelings of in- 
dignation, the insults directed against the President, the 
Rev. Jabez Bunting, in certain Circular Letters, and other 



152 THE LEEDS CASE. 

publications, which have recently been spread, with malig- 
nant industry, through many of our Societies ; and feels 
itself bound, when one of its public officers is thus as- 
sailed by gross and unmerited obloquy, to repeat those 
affectionate assurances of its confidence which have so 
often been indicated in his election, by the free suffrages 
of his brethren, to the most important offices in the Body, 
— and to express the high and unabated sense it entertains 
of the excellency of his personal character, and of the in- 
tegrity and disinterestedness with which he h?,s devoted 
his energies to the efficient discharge of the duties per- 
taining to the arduous offices with which he has from time 
to time been invested. The Conference, in the language 
of one of its Resolutions, unanimously passed in 1S26, and 
inserted in the Journal, again gratefully acknowledges the 
" zeal with which he has for so many years employed his 
talents in the service of the Connexion, the fidelity and 
value of his services, and his steady adherence to all those 
great principles on which Methodism is founded, and by 
which alone it can be maintained in its purity." 

4. That the thanks of the Conference be given to those 
Local Preachers, Trustees, Stewards and Leaders, of the 
two Leeds Circuits, who have faithfully and affectionately 
co-operated with the Travelling Preachers in their support 
of the rules and usages of the Connexion. 

5. That although the Conference has felt itself bound, 
both in justice to the brethren Mho have been so criminally 
calumniated, and also for the maintenance of our salutary 
discipline, to adopt the foregoing Resolutions, — it cannot 
but most deeply regret, that so many persons should, in 
the hour of temptation, have been so led away, by the arts 
of disaffected men, as to separate themselves from that 
Christian Society in which, for the most part, they re- 
ceived their first spiritual good ; and that, instead of sub- 
mitting to their brethren in things indifferent, they should 
have surrendered themselves to the influence of persons 
who have made use of their prejudices to excite in them 
feelings of alienation from their Pastors and religious 
friends : And the Conference does therefore most affection- 
ately and solemnly invite all such to return again to their 
brethren ; and hereby directs the Preachers at Leeds to 
receive, with perfect oblivion of the past, those who shall 
express their willingness to submit as heretofore to the 
rules and usages of the Body ; — a service which, the Con- 
ference is confident, the Superintendents to whom it has 
again confided the pastoral care of those Circuits, and the 
brethren appointed as their Helpers, will be most forward 
to perform. — The Conference especially calls the attention 



THE LEEDS CASE. 153 

of all who have thus separated from us in Leeds, to the 
sentiments it has expressed in its Annual Address to the 
{societies at large ; and trust that none who, through in- 
considerateness, and the unhappy influence of party-spirit, 
have so unreasonably rent themselves from us, to the ha- 
zard of their peace and welfare, will suffer themselves to 
resist its earnest and paternal invitations again to seek the 
fold from which they have been seduced, — the gate of which 
the Conference now sets open, with the deepest concern for 
their rescue from the spiritual dangers with which they are 
surrounded. 

6. That, on the right of a Leaders'-Meeting to express 
its opinion (if, under all circumstances, it shall deem such 
expression to be expedient and advisable), when it is pro- 
posed to introduce an Organ into any Chapel with which 
such Meeting may be connected, the Conference confirms 
the views contained in the published Resolutions of the 
Special District-Meeting, held at Leeds, in December last 
(page 9), of which the following passages are an extract : — 

(1.) " We cheerfully acknowledge the general right of 
our highly-valued brethren, the Class-Leaders, freely and 
fully to express their views and wishes to the Conference, 
in the way of Memorial, or otherwise, on subjects which 
seriously and manifestly involve the spiritual interests of 
the Classes placed under their care, or the religious pros- 
perity of the Society to which they are severally attached." 

(2 ) " We cordially agree that the opinions and applica- 
tions of our regular Leaders'-Meetings, when properly con- 
veyed to the Conference, are on every ground entitled to 
(what in the recent case of the Memorial from Leeds they 
actually received) a kind, respectful, and patient considera- 
tion j and ought to have such influence on the decisions of 
the Conference, upon the subjects described in the preced- 
ing article, as may consist with its duties to God and to 
Methodism, and with the rights and interests of other par- 
ties equally concerned in those decisions." 

(3.) " We think, however, that the right thus recognised 
by us ought to be exercised peaceably and prudently j — on 
such occasions only as seem to justify, or require, an extra- 
ordinary interference : wi f h a cautious avoidance of those 
subjects of memorial which do not immediately and directly 
affect that particular portion of our Society to which the 
Leaders concerned in such interference are individually 
attached ; — and, finally, with a careful abstinence from all 
such assumptions of authority as neither our rules, nor the 
general principles of justice and of religious liberty, will 
sanction, in reference to the local regulations and uses of 
other Societies, congregations, and Circuits." 
H 2 



154 



THE LEEDS CASE. 



(4.) " We affectionately and respectfully remind the 
Leaders, that their memorials, though entitled, as stated 
above, to a kind and patient consideration, and though they 
will always possess much weight and influence with the 
Conference, are not, on any just principle, or by any law 
or usage of Methodism, to be admitted as bindiny on the 
decisions of that body, in matters which belong to its pas- 
toral jurisdiction. The measures of the Conference (com- 
posed, as that body is, of the spiritual fathers of the Con- 
nexion at large), should ever be founded upon comprehen- 
sive views of what is due to the rights, interests, and feel- 
ings of all classes of our officers and people, and to the 
welfare of the whole family of Methodism. And, as Minis- 
ters of the Gospel, before whom God has been pleased to 
set an open door, and whom he has commissioned to take 
a part in the great work of discipling all nations, and 
of calling sinners to repentance, they are bound to have 
an anxious and benevolent regard in all their proceedings 
to the general usefulness of their labours, and to the exten- 
sion of the work of God at home and abroad. 

N. B. An Address from the Quarterly-Meeting of the 
London South Circuit having been sent to the President of 
the Conference, on the subject of the proceedings of the 
Special District-Meeting, held in Leeds, in December last, 
the Conference resolves as follows : — ; 

1. That the said "Address" has been printed and circu- 
lated, among the Preachers and others, before it could be 
presented to the Conference ; and also appears to have been 
printed for circulation throughout the country, and to have 
been exhibited in Booksellers' shops for sale; — that these cir- 
cumstances evince the real object of its chief promoters to 
have been, not the redress of alleged grievances, but the excite- 
ment of dissatisfaction and suspicion among our Societies, 
by spreading charges of a calumnious nature, founded on false 
reasonings respecting a case, with the real facts of which 
they were, for the most part, unacquainted; — that all this 
was done without waiting for the explanation and defence 
of the parties so grossly slandered by ex-parte statements ; 
— and that, for these reasons, the Conference must decline 
taking the said Address into their further consideration. 

2. That the Conference cannot but reprehend the incau- 
tious and improper proceedings of the London South Quar- 
terly-Meeting, in thus interfering with the concerns of 
another and distant Circuit; in assuming to express a 
positive opinion on a case of which it could be but partially 
informed ; and in giving utterance and publicity to cen- 
sures upon absent parties, by name, to whom no opportunity 
of rebutting them was afforded: And that the Conference 



THE LEEDS CASE. 155 

admonishes the brethren concerned, to act, in future, with 
a higher regard to the sacred principles of charity and jus- 
tice ; and to avoid in their meetings, all intermeddling with 
the affairs of other Circuits, as being inconsistent with the 
general rules and usages of Methodism, and subversive of 
Christian peace and harmony in our Connexion. 

3. That the Conference has received, with great satisr 
faction, a letter from the two Stewards of the London 
South Circuit, in which, after stating that their signatures 
were merely affixed to the Address officially, they add, — 
" We deeply regret the failure of success in the opposition 
presented to the passing of this Address at the Quarterly- 
Meeting ; and individually desire to express our unshaken 
confidence in the wisdom and piety of Conference, with 
whom we now leave the consideration of the whole sub- 
ject :" and that the Conference cannot but affectionately 
express their earnest hope that, on a calm and deliberate 
re-consideration of the subject, a large majority of the 
Quarterly-Meeting will concur in the sentiments expressed 
by their Stewards. 1828. 



Q. What is the judgment of the Conference in re- 
ference to the general discipline and government of the 
Connexion ? 

A. Certain novel interpretations of the laws and usages of 
the Body having been recently circulated in different publica- 
tions, obviously tending to produce faction, and calculated to 
disturb the peace of our Societies, the Conference, whilst 
it thankfully acknowledges the almost total failure of these 
attempts, and, the settled and peaceful state of the Con- 
nexion at large, and of the great majority of the people, 
even in those few Circuits where such efforts have been 
chiefly made, unanimously resolves and declares, — That it 
will continue to maintain and uphold the Articles of Paci- 
fication adopted in the year 1795, and the Regulations 
which are arranged under various heads in the Address 
of the Conference, dated Leeds, August 7, 1797, with the 
"Miscellaneous Regulations" which follow them, as hitherto 
acted upon in the general practice of the Body, and ex- 
plained and confirmed by the decisions of the Conference, 
recorded in its Minutes of last year, on the dissensions at 
Leeds ; — rules which, taken together, equally secure the 
privileges of our people, and the due exercise of the pas- 
toral duties of Ministers ; and which the Conference re- 
gards as forming the only basis of our fellowship as a dis- 
tinct religious Society, and the only ground on which our 
communion with each other can be continued. 1829. 



156 

I. RULES OF THE SOCIETY. 

I. In the latter end of the year 1739,* eight or ten per- 
sons came to me in London, who appeared to be deeply 
convinced of sin, and earnestly groaning for redemption. 
They desired (as did two or three more the next day) that 
I would spend some time with them in prayer, and advise 
them how to flee from the wrath to come, which they saw 
continually hanging over their heads. That we might have 
more time for this great work, I appointed a day when they 
might all come together ; which, from thenceforward, they 
did every week, viz. on Thursday in the evening. To 
these, and as many more as desired to join with them (for 
their number increased daily), J gave those advices from 
time to time which I judged most needful for them ; and 
we always concluded our meetings with prayer suitable to 
their several necessities. 

II. This was the rise of the United Society, first in 
London, and then in other places. Such a Society is no 
other than " A company of men having the form, and 
seeking the power of godliness : united, in order to pray 
together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch 
over one another in love, that they may help each other to 
work out their salvation." 

III. That it may the more easily be discerned, whether 

* In April of the same year, Mr. Wesley being in Bristol, a few per- 
sons in that city also, agreed to meet weekly, with the same intentions as 
those who met in London, under the advice and religious direction of Mr. 
Wesley and his brother Charles. Similar meetings were also commenced 
at Kingswood and Bath ; but, in the year 1740, a part of the Society in 
London, placing themselves more immediately under the pastoral charge 
and ministerial direction of Mr. John Wesley, agreed to meet together in 
a building called the Foundry, in Moorfields; which he had purchased 
and converted into a place of religious worship. The Rules were drawn 
up in May, 1743, for the government of the Societies, and entitled, ••" The 
Nature, Design, and General Rules of the United Societies in London, 
Bristol, Kingswood, Newcastle-upon-Tyne," &c. On May 13, 1788, 
Mr. Wesley, taking a review of the work in which he had spent his life, 
thus remarks : — " There is no other religious society under heaven, which 
requires nothing of men, in order to their admission into it, but a desire 
to save their souls. Look all around you, you cannot be admitted into 
the Church, or Society of the Presbyterians, Anabaptists, Quakers, or 
any others, unless you hold the same opinions with them, and adhere to 
the same mode of worship. The Methodists alone do not insist on your 
holding this or that opinion, but they think and let think. Neither do 
they impose any particular mode of worship, but you may continue to 
worship in your former manner, be it what it may. Now, I do not know 
any other religious society, either ancient or modern, wherein such 
liberty of conscience is allowed, or has been allowed, since the age of the 
Apostles ! Here is our glorying. And a glorying peculiar to us ! What 
society shares it with us ?" 



RULES OF THE SOCIETY. 157 

they are indeed working out their own salvation, each 
Society is divided into smaller companies, called Classes, 
according to their respective places of abode. There are 
about twelve persons in every Class ; one of whom is styled 
the Leader. It is his business, 

1. To see each Person in his Class, once a week, at least, 
in order 

To inquire how their souls prosper ; 

To advise, reprove, comfort, or exhort, as occasion may 
require ; 

To receive what they are willing to give, towards the 
support of the Gospel. 

2. To meet the Ministers and the Stewards of the So- 
ciety once a week, in order 

To inform the Minister of any that are sick, or of any 
that walk disorderly, and will not be reproved ; 

To pay to the Stewards what they have received of their 
several Classes in the week preceding. And 

To show their Account of what each person has con- 
tributed.* 

IV. There is one only condition previously required of 
those who desire admission into these Societies, viz., ■' a 
desire to flee from the wrath to come, and be saved from 
their sins." But wherever this is really fixed in the soul, it 
will be shown by its fruits. It is therefore expected of all 
who continue therein, that they should continue to evidence 
their Desire of Salvation, 

First, By doing no harm, by avoiding evil in every 
kind : especially that which is most generally practised. 
Such as 

The taking the Name of God in vain : 

The profaning the Day of the Lord, either by doing 
ordinary work thereon, or by buying or selling : 

Drunkenness ; buying or selling spirituous liquors j or 
drinking them, unless in cases of extreme necessity : 

Fighting, quarrelling, brawling j brother going to lam with 

* The following ai*e Mr. Wesley's own words relative to this subject. 
See Minutes of Conference at London, 1782 : — 

Q. 31. Have the weekly and quarterly contributions been duly made 
in all our Societies ? 

A. In many it has been shamefully neglected. To remedy this, 

1. Let every Assistant (Superintendent) remind every Society, that 
this was our original Rule: every member contributes one penny weekly 
(unless he is in extreme poverty), and one shilling quarterly. Explain, 
the reasonableness of this. 

2. Let every Leader receive the weekly contribution from each person 
in his Class. 

3. Let the Assistant ask every person, at changing his ticket, Can yo 
afford to observe our Rule ? and receive what he is able to give. 



158 RULES OF THE SOCIETY. 

brother : returning evil for evil, or railing for railing ; the 
using many words in buying or selling : 
The buying or selling uncustomed goods : 
The giving or taking things on iisury j i. e. unlawful in- 
terest. 

Uncharitable or unprofitable Conversation : particularly- 
speaking evil of Magistrates or Ministers. 

Doing to others as we would not they should do unto us. 
Doing what we know is not for the Glory of God : as 
The putting on of gold or costly Apparel : 
The taking such Diversions as cannot be used in the Name 
of the Lord Jesus. 

The singing those songs or reading those Books, that do 
not tend to the knowledge or love of God : 
Softness, and needless self-indulgence : 
Laying up treasure on earth : 

Borrowing without a probability of paying : or taking up 
GoDds without a probability of paying for them. 

V. It is expected of all who continue in these Societies, 
that they should continue to evidence their Desire of Sal- 
vation ; 

Secondly, By doing good, by being in every kind merciful 
after their power, as they have opportunity ; doing good of 
every possible sort, and as far as possible to all men ; 

To their bodies, of the ability that God giveth, by giving 
Food to the Hungry, by clothing the Naked, by helping or 
visiting them that are sick, or in Prison : 

To their Souls, by instructing, reproving, or exhorting all 
we have any intercourse with ; trampling under foot that 
enthusiastic Doctrine of Devils, that " We are not to do 
good, unless our Hearts be free to it." 

By doing good, especially to them that are of the House- 
hold of Faith, or groaning so to be : employing them pre- 
ferably to others, buying one of another, helping each other 
in Business : and so much the more, because the World 
will love its own, and them only. 

By all possible Diligence and Frugality, that the Gospel 
be not blamed. 

By running with patience the Race that is set before 
them, denying themselves, and taking up their cross daily j 
submitting to bear the Reproach of Christ ; to be as the 
filth and off-scouring of the world ; and looking that men 
should say all manner of evil of them falsely for the Lord's sake. 
VI. It is expected of all who desire to continue in these 
Societies, that they should continue to evidence their Desire 
of Salvation : 

Thirdly, By attending on all the Ordinances of God : 
such are, 



RULES OF THE SOCIETY. 159 

The public Worship of God, 

The Ministry of the Word, either read or expounded. 

The Supper of the Lord. 

Family and private Prayer. 

Searching the Scriptures ; and, 

Fasting or Abstinence. 

VII. These are the General Rules of our Societies ; all 
which we are taught of God to observe, even in his written 
Word, the only rule, and, the sufficient rule, both of our 
faith and practice. And all these we know his Spirit writes 
on every truly awakened heart. If there be any among us 
who observe them not, who habitually break any of them, 
let it be made known unto them who watch over that soul, 
as they that must give an account. We will admonish him 
of the error of his ways ; we will bear with him for a season. 
But then, if he repent not, he hath no more place among 
us. We have delivered our own souls. 

J. & C. WESLEY. 

May 1, 1743. 



160 



II. DISCIPLINE OF THE SOCIETIES.* 

I. OF RECEIVING MEMBERS INTO THE SOCIETY. 

I. The Leaders' Meeting has a right to declare any 
person on trial improper to be received into the Society : 
and, after such declaration, the Superintendent shall not 
admit such person into Society.- 

II. Neither the Superintendents, nor any other Preachers, 
shall give Tickets to any, till they are recommended by a 
Leader, with whom they have met, at least, two months on 
trial 

III. No Preacher shall give Notes (admitting persons on 
trial) to any but those who are recommended by one he 
knows, or till they have met three or four times in a Class. 

IV. He must give them the Rules of the Society, the first 
time they meet. 

V. As some of our people have, in different parts of the 
kingdom, been imposed on, in various ways, by Swindlers, 
who professed themselves members of our Society, let no 
person be received into any Society without a certificate, 
signed by one of the Itinerant Preachers in the Circuit, 
from whence he professes to have come. 1779. 

II. OF THE EXCLUSION OF MEMBERS FROM THE 

SOCIETY. 

I. The far greater number of those that are separated 
from us, exclude themselves by neglecting to meet in Class, 
and use the other means of grace, and so gradually forsake 
us. With regard to others, 

II. Our Rule is fixed, and our Custom expressed in the 
preceding Rules of Society, where it is said, " If there be 
any among us, who observe them not, who habitually break 
any of them, — we will admonish him of the errors of his 
ways, — we will bear with him for a season : but then if he 
repent not, he hath no more place among us." 

III. No person must be expelled from the Society for any 
breach of our Rules, or even for manifest immorality, till 
such fact or crime has been proved at a Leaders'-Meeting. 

* The following Resolution was entered in the Minutes of the Con- 
ference, 1797 : — " We have determined, that all the Rules which relate to 
the Societies, Leaders, Stewards, Local Preachers, Trustees, and Quarterly- 
Meetings, shall be published, with the Ruies of the Society, for the 
benefit and convenience of all the Members." Agreeably to the 
arrangement thus announced, and subsequently published, the Rules 
alluded to will be found : and, in addition to them, others that have since 
been adopted, and which will be distinguished from the former by a 
separating line 



DISCIPLINE OF THE SOCIETIES. 161 

III. OF PERMITTING STRANGERS TO BE PRESENT 
AT THE SOCIETY-MEETINGS AND LOVE-TEAS IS. 

I. Let every other Meeting of the Society be for the 
Members of the Society only ; and let no strangers be 
admitted. At other times some may be permitted to be 
present ; but the same persons not above three times. 

II. Let all the Members of the Society show their 
Tickets ; and if the Stewards and Leaders are not exact, 
others must be employed that have more resolution. 

III. Let no person attend any Love-feast, without a 
Note from the Preacher. 

IV. Let no Love-feast be appointed but by the consent 
of the Superintendent; nor any Funeral Sermon be 
preached, without his consent, and for those only who die 
happy in the Lord.* 

V. Q. Has not the privilege of admission to our Love- 
feast been too commonly and promiscuously granted ? 

A. In some places this has been the case ; and we there- 
fore direct that our old Rule shall be uniformly enforced, 
which enacts, that no person, not willing to join our 
Society, shall be admitted to a Love-feast more than once ; 
nor then, without a note from a Travelling Preacher. We 
entreat both our Preachers and our Stewards to observe 
this direction ; and let it be also understood, that any per- 
son who is proved to have lent a Society ticket to another, 
not in Society, for the purposes of deceiving the door- 
keepers, shall be suspended for three months. 1808. 

IV. OF SERVICE IN CHURCH HOURS. 

The cases in which it has been agreed to allow service in 
what are commonly called Church hours, are, 

I. When the Church Minister, Rector, Vicar, or Curate, 
is a notoriously wicked man. 

II. When he preaches Arian, Socinian, or any other 
equally pernicious doctrine. 

III. When there are not Churches in the Town or Parish 
sufficient to contain the People. 

IV. Where there is no Church within two or three miles. 

V. When a majority of the Trustees of any Chapel, on 
the one hand, and of the Stewards and Leaders of the 
Society belonging to that Chapel, on the other, allow of 
and request it ; and as to places where there is a Society 

* Mr. Wesley gave the following advice to the Preachers at the Con- 
ference of 1786 : " Never Preach a Funeral Sermon but for an eminently 
holy person: nor then without consulting the Assistant. Preach none 
for hire. Beware of panegyric, particularly in London." 



162 DISCIPLINE OF THE SOCIETIES. 

and no Chapel, wherever the majority of the Stewards and 
Leaders of that Society testify that it is the wish of the 
people, and that it will cause no division among them. 

VI. Wherever Divine Service is performed in England 
on the Lord's-day, in Church hours, the officiating Preacher 
shall read either the Service of the Church, our venerable 
Father's abridgment of it ; or, at least, the Lessons ap- 
pointed by the calendar. But we recommend either the 
full Service or the Abridgment. 

V. CONCERNING THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
ORDINANCE OF BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S 
SUPPER IN OUR SOCIETIES. 
I. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper shall not be ad- 
ministered in any Chapel, except a majority of the Trustees 
of that Chapel, on the one hand, and the majority of the 
Stewards and Leaders belonging to that Chapel, as the 
best qualified to give the sense of the people, on the other, 
allow it. Nevertheless, in all cases, the consent of the 
Conference shall be first obtained before this Ordinance 
shall be administered.* 

* So early as 1792 the Conference was obliged to take up the question 
of the Administration of the Lord's Supper. Mr. Wesley having been 
used to administer that ordinance to the Societies in his annual visits, the 
loss of that privilege, after his decease, was an additional inducement 
to contend for its more general ami frequent administration by the 
preachers. Many petitions were presented on that side, whilst several 
addresses from the High-Church party, insisted that the privilege should 
not be granted. The Preachers, also, were divided in sentiment on the 
subject. At length it was proposed to decide the question for that year 
by lot. After casting lots, the Conference resolved, " The Lord's 
Supper shall not be administered by any person among our Societies in 
England and Ireland, for the ensuing year, on any consideration whatso- 
ever, except in London " The prohibition extended even to the clergy of 
the Church of England. This was made known to the peoplj in an 
address — the first instance of the Conference addressing the people. In 
1793, the agitation respecting the ordinance was so great, that the Con- 
ference was obliged to re-consider the question. After a long dis- 
cussion, it was decided, by a very large majority, that the Societies should 
have the privilege of the Lord's Supper where they unanimously 
desired it. At the Conference of 1794, a number of Trustees, from some 
of the principal chapels, assembled at Bristol, at the same time with the 
Preachers. They desired admission to the Conference, and presented an 
address expressive of their sentiments respecting their own situation, and 
also respecting the administration of the ordinance. A negociation 
commenced which ended in an agreement acknowledging the authority of 
the Trustees, as such, and granting the Sacrament to ninety-three places 
in England, <fcc. Between 1792 and 1797 the Connexion was deluged 
with publications on the subject, in which the people asserted and main- 
tained their scriptural rights and liberties, in opposition to those Trustees 
and Preachers who opposed the introduction of the Sacrament. Many 
of these pamphlets were written by the most esteemed and talented 
Preachers in the Connexion, the companions and friends of Mr. Wesley. 



DISCIPLINE OF THE SOCIETIES. 163 

II. Where there is a Society but no Chapel, if the ma- 
jority of the Stewards and Leaders of that Society testify, 
in writing, to the Conference, that it is the wish of the 
people that the Lord's Supper should be administered 
among them, and that no separation will be made thereby, 
their desire shall be granted. 

III. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper shall not be 
administered to a Society in a private house, within two 
miles of a Methodist Chapel. 

IV. The Lord's Supper shall be administered by the 
Superintendent only, or such of his Helpers as are in full 
connexion, and as he shall appoint ; provided that no 
Preacher be required to give it against his own inclination ; 
and should it be granted to any place where the Preachers 
on the Circuit are all unwilling to give it, the Superin- 
tendent shall, in that case, invite a neighbouring Preacher, 
who is properly qualified, to give it. 

V. It shall be administered at such times and in such 
manner as the Conference shall appoint. And the Con- 
ference agree that the Lord's Supper shall be administered 
among us on Sunday evenings only ; except the majority 
of the Stewards and Leaders desire it in Church hours ; or 
where it has already been administered in those hours. 
Nevertheless, it shall never be administered on those Sun- 
days on which it is administered in the Parish Church. 

VI. The Lord's Supper shall always be administered in 
England according to the Form of the Established Church : 
but the person who administers shall have liberty to give 
out hymns, to use exhortation, and extemporary prayer. 

VII. Wherever the Lord's Supper shall be administered 
according to the above-mentioned Regulations, it shall 
always be continued, except the Conference order other- 
wise. 

VIII. No person shall be suffered, on any pretence, to 
partake of the Lord's Supper among us, unless he be a 
member of Society, or receive a Note of admission from 
the Superintendent, (or the Preacher administering,) which 
Note must be renewed quarterly. And if any Leaders, 
Stewards, or Trustees, refuse to be regulated by this Rule, 
the Sacrament shall not be administered where this is the 
case. 1796. [Confirmed in 1805.] 

IX. The administration of Baptism and the Burial of 
the Dead, shall be determined according to the Regulations 
above-mentioned respecting the Lord's Supper. 

I. Q. Is any advice necessary respecting the Lord's 
Supper ? 
A. 1. We once more earnestly beseech all the members 



164 DISCIPLINE OF THE SOCIETIES. 

of our Societies, conscientiously to attend this sacred ordi- 
nance of God our Saviour at every opportunity ; and do 
entreat them to approach the Lord's Table, at least, once in 
every month, either in our own chapels or elsewhere ; and 
to make a point of staying till the whole service be con- 
cluded. 

2. In the visitation of the classes, let every Preacher 
closely examine the members on this head, and strongly 
enforce our rules concerning it. And, in order to remove 
every excuse, let this blessed Sacrament be regularly and 
frequently administered wherever it has been appointed by 
the Conference. 1806. 

VI. ON CONFORMITY TO THE WORLD, AND 
SABBATH-BREAKING. 

I. Those School-Masters and School-Mistresses who 
receive Dancing-Masters into their Schools, and those 
Parents who employ Dancing-Masters for their children, 
shall be no longer members of our Society. 

II. To prevent or remedy the evils of dram-drinking, 
evil-speaking, unprofitable conversation, lightness, expen- 
siveness, or gaiety of apparel, and contracting debts with- 
out due care to discharge them, or smuggling, buying or 
selling uncustomed goods, the Preachers shall solemnly 
and frequently warn the Societies against these evils, and 
inform them, that they who are guilty of them cannot be 
permitted to remain with us. 

III. We strongly recommend to all the Members of our 
Societies, the religious observation of the Lord's-day, and 
desire our Superintendents to exclude from the Society, 
all who buy or sell on that sacred day, except in case of 
Medicine for the Sick, or for supplying necessaries for 
Funerals. 

IV. No member of our Society must employ any Barber 
on the Lord's-day. And all our people, who possibly can, 
are desired to employ only those Barbers who conscienti- 
ously abstain from Sabbath-breaking. 

V. No member of our Society must make any Wake or 
Feast, or go to any on the Lord's-day, but bear a public 
testimony against them. 

VI. Q. As it has been suggested, that our Rule respect- 
the exclusion of Barbers, who shave or dress their cus- 
tomers on the Lord's-day, is not sufficiently explicit and 
positive, what is the decision of the Conference on this 
important point ? 

A. Let it be fully understood, that no such person is to 
be suffered to remain in any of our Societies. We charge 



DISCIPLINE OF THE SOCIETIES. 165 

all our Superintendents to execute this Rule, in everyplace, 
without partiality and without delay. 1807- 

VII. Q. What can be done to maintain among all our 
People a strict and conscientious observance of the Lord's- 
day ? 

A. We solemly confirm our former Minutes on that 
important branch of Christian duty. [See Rules concerning 
Chairmen, No. XX. 24 ; also Rules concerning Superin- 
tendent*, Nos. II,, V., XIX., XXXV., LXVIII., 11; also 
Recommendations concerning Family Religion, No. I.] And 
we require our Preachers, especially the Superintendents, 
to enforce them on the attention and practice of our peo- 
ple. In particular we express our disapprobation of Sun- 
day Baking. And we also advise all our friends mildly, 
but steadily, to discountenance the plan of teaching the 
Art of Writing on the Lord's-day, to the children of Sun- 
day Schools, as one which has an injurious effect both on 
Teachers and Scholars ; — occupies a considerable portion of 
the Lord's-day, that might be more profitably employed 
in catechetical and other religious instruction ; — and, being 
wholly secular in its direct object and tendency, is, in our 
judgment, an unjustifiable infringement of the sanctity of 
the Sabbath. — (N. B. This Minute ivas passed by an -unani- 
mous Vote of the Conference.) 1823. 

VII. OF MAPvRYING WITH UNBELIEVERS. 

Some of our Members have married with unbelievers, 
yea, with unawakened persons. This has had fatal effects. 
They have had either a cross for life, or turned back unto 
perdition. To put a stop to this, every Preacher is en- 
joined to enforce frequently the Apostle's caution, " Be 
not unequally yoked." And he is openly to declare, that 
whoever does this shall be expelled the Society. AVhen 
any such are expelled, he is to subjoin a suitable exhorta- 
tion, and to urge all single persons to take no step in so 
weighty a matter, without advising with the most serious 
of their Christian friends. 

VIII. OF BANKRUPTCIES. 

I. To prevent scandal, whenever any of our Members 
become bankrupts, the Superintendent shall talk with them 
at large. And if any of them have not kept fair accounts, 
or have been concerned in the base practice of raising 
money, by coining notes (commonly called the Bill Trade), 
he shall be expelled immediately. 

II. Q. What can we do to prevent scandal, when any of 
our Members becomes a Bankrupt, or fails in business ? 



166 DISCIPLINE OF THE SOCIETIES. 

A. 1. Let our old Rule on this subject be reprinted; viz. 
" In this case let two of the principal members of the 
Society be deputed to examine his accounts ; and if he has 
not kept fair accounts, or has been concerned in that base 
practice of raising money by coining notes, (commonly 
called the Bill Trade,) let him be immediately expelled from 
the Society." 

2. Let all our Superintendents faithfully act according to 
this Rule. 

3. If any member be found to have speculated in busi- 
ness beyond a reasonable probability of his being able to 
meet every lawful demand, he shall be suspended from the 
privileges of the Society for one year at least. 

4. If any of our members who have formerly failed in 
business, shall afterwards, by the blessing of God, have 
acquired property, we earnestly exhort them to demonstrate 
their integrity by paying all their former deficiencies as 
soon as possible. 1820. 

IX. OF LOYALTY AND SUBJECTION TO THE KING 
AND GOVERNMENT. 

None of us shall, either in writing or conversation, 
speak lightly or irreverently of the Government under 
which he lives. We are to observe, that the Oracles of 
God command us to be subject to the higher Powers ; and 
that "honour to the king" is there connected with the 
" fear of God." 1792. 

X. OF DAYS OF FASTING. 

A general Fast shall be held in all our Societies, the first 
Friday after New-Year's-day ; after Lady-day ; after Mid- 
summer-day ; and after Michaelmas-day. 



167 



III. OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETIES. 

I. OF THE APPOINTMENT OR CHANGE OF 
STEWARDS AND LEADERS. 

I. No Person shall be appointed a Leader or Society- 
Steward, or be removed from his office, but in conjunction 
with a Leader's Meeting; the nomination to be in the 
Superintendent, and the approbation or disapprobation in 
the Leaders' Meeting. 

II. As several inconveniences have arisen respecting the 
change of Stewards ; to remedy this, let it be observed, 
that the office of a Steward ceases at the end of the year : 
and every Superintendent is required to change one 
Steward at least; so that no Steward may be in office 
above two years together, except in some extraordinary 
cases. 

III. The proper time for changing the Circuit-Stewards, 
is at the Quarterly-Meeting, when the Superintendent 
shall consult all who are present, respecting the most pro- 
per person or persons to act in that capacity. 

IV. The place for appointing or changing the Steward 
of any particular Society, is the Leaders' Meeting of that 
Society. For in the general, " No person can be received 
as a Society-Officer among us, without the consent of that 
Meeting to which he particularly belongs; nor can any 
officer be appointed, except on the same plan/' Minutes of 
1797- 



V. The Superintendent of every Circuit shall invite the 
General Steward of his Circuit to be present at the Annual 
Meeting of the District Committee, during the settling of 
every thing relating to the Finances of the District ; and 
every Circuit Steward shall have a right to be present, and 
to advise at the settlement of all Financial matters. 1801. 

VI. Q, It is said, that in some Leaders* Meetings, votes 
have been taken in given instances, Whether the fixed and 
established Rules of Methodism, as printed in our General 
Minutes, should be executed or not. What shall be done 
to prevent this evil in future ? 

A. All our Rules are equally binding on both the 
Preachers and the People : and, therefore, every Super- 
intendent, who permits a vote to be taken on the execu- 
tion or rejection of them, shall, on proof at the ensuing 
Conference, be deprived of the office of Superintendent. 
1806. 

VII. We again earnestly recommend to our Stewards in 



108 OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETIES. 

every Circuit, to take care that the regular weekly allow- 
ance for board to every married Preacher and his family, 
shall not be less than half-a-guinea. 1811. 



II. OF THE LOCAL PREACHERS AND THEIR 
MEETINGS. 

I. The Superintendent shall regularly meet the Local 
Preachers once a Quarter : and no person shall receive a 
Plan as a Local Preacher, nor be suffered to preach among 
us as such, without the approbation of that Meeting. Or, 
if in any Circuit a regular Local Preacher's Meeting can- 
not be held, .they shall be proposed and approved at the 
General Quarterly Meeting of the Circuit. 1794. 

II. All Local Preachers shall meet in Class. No excep- 
tion shall be made in respect to any who have been travel- 
ling Preachers in former years. 1/93. 

III. Let no Local Preacher, who will not meet in Class, 
or who is not regularly planned by the Superintendent of 
the Circuit where he resides, be permitted to preach. 

IV. Let no Local Preacher be permitted to preach in any 
other Circuit than his own, without producing a recom- 
mendation from the Superintendent of that Circuit in which 
he lives : nor suffer any invitation to be admitted as a plea, 
except from men in office, who act in conjunction with the 
Superintendent of that Circuit which he visits. — N. B. 
The design of this Rule is to prevent any, under the cha- 
racter of Local Preachers, from burthening the people, 
either by collecting money or living upon them, and to 
prevent improper persons, who bear no part of the expense, 
from inviting Local Preachers thus to visit them. But it 
was never intended to reflect the least disrespect on any of 
our worthy Brethren, the Local Preachers, whom, as a body, 
we greatly respect. 

V. Let no Local Preacher keep Love-feasts, without the 
consent of the Superintendent, nor in any wise interfere 
with his business. Let every one keep in his own place, 
and attend to the duties of his station. 

VI. No Preacher, who has been suspended or expelled, 
shall, on any account, be employed as a Local Preacher, 
without the authority of Conference. 



VII. Q. What is the opinion of the Conference concern- 
ing the Resolutions passed in the Quarterly-Meeting held 
for the London Circuit, on the 30th of last December, of 
which, with the introduction, the following is a copy ? 

" It was stated that several private individuals had, in 
various parts of the kingdom, obtained licenses for preach- 



OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETIES. 169 

ing under the Toleration Acts, and had abused the privilege 
of such licenses, by claiming exemption from civil and 
military offices ; — to the manifest prejudice of their fellow- 
citizens; — to the injury of the state; — and to the great 
scandal of Religion. 

In order, therefore, to suppress such practices, as much 
as lies in this Meeting, and to prevent improper persons 
from becoming Preachers or Teachers, 
Resolved Unanimously, 

1. That if any Member of the Methodist Society in this 
Circuit, apply to the Quarter Sessions for a license to 
preach, without being approved as a Preacher by the 
Quarterly-Meeting, as expressed by the seventh section of 
the Large Minutes of the Methodist Conference, printed in 
1797, such person shall be expelled the Society. 

2. That if any Member of the Methodist Society in this 
Circuit, who may have already obtained a license contrary 
to the last resolution, shall attempt to claim any exemption 
from offices, by virtue of such license, such person shall be 
expelled from the Society. 

3. That it is the opinion of this Meeting, that the regu- 
larly appointed Local Preachers, or persons who preach oc- 
casionally, and follow trades or other callings, are a very 
useful and valuable body of men; but as they are not 
wholly set apart for the work of the Ministry, it is not con- 
sidered to be consistent with the spirit of the Toleration 
Acts, that they should claim any advantage from the 
licenses in question. This Meeting, however, has such 
confidence in the good sense and uprightness of the Local 
Preachers, as to render it unnecessary to pass any penal re- 
solutions, with regard to their conduct upon this business. 

4. That the above resolutions be printed in the " Metho- 
dist Magazine," and circulated generally throughout the 
Methodist Connexion. 

Signed, by order of the Meeting, 
Joseph Benson, Chairman. 
Joseph Butterworth, 
New Chapel, City-Road, Secretary to the Quarterly- 

December 30, 1802. Meeting. 

A. We highly approve of these resolutions, and do agree 
and are determined to adopt them, and to enforce them 
throughout the whole Connexion. 1803. 

VIII. Q. It is said that improper persons have applied 
for Licenses to preach : how may this be best prevented ? 

A. Any person who applies for a License, without the 
previous knowledge and consent of the Superintendent, and 
his Colleagues, and of the Local Preachers, or Quarterly - 
i 



170 OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETIES. 

Meeting of the Circuit in which he resides, shall not be 
suffered to preach amongst us. 1809. 

IX. It is agreed, in compliance with an application made 
by our respected Brethren, the Local Preachers of Liver- 
pool, that all Local Preachers, regularly entered as such on 
the Plan of the Circuit to which they belong, who request 
the privilege, shall be allowed to purchase Mr. Benson's 
Commentary on the Old Testament, for their own use, at a 
deduction of 25 per cent, from the selling price. 1816. 

III. CONCERNING TRUSTEES. 

I. The Trustees, in conjunction with the Superinten- 
dent, who shall have one vote only, shall choose their own 
Stewards ; who shall receive and disburse all Seat-Rents, 
and such collections as shall be made for the purpose of 
paying interest of money due upon the premises, or for 
reducing the principal. The aforesaid Steward shall keep 
proper accounts in books provided for that purpose ; which 
books shall be open for the inspection of the Superinten- 
dent, and audited in his presence once every year; or 
oftener, if convenient. 

II. No Trustee, however accused, or defective in confor- 
mity to the established Rules of the Society, shall be re- 
moved from the Society, unless his crime or breach of the 
Rules of the Society be proved, in the presence of the Trus- 
tees and Leaders. 1794. 

IV. OF THE QUARTERLY-MEETINGS COMPOSED 
OF THE STEWARDS OF THE DIFFERENT SOCIE- 
TIES IN EACH CIRCUIT. 

I. All bills for the support of Travelling Preachers, and 
their Families ; for house-rent, fire, candles, sickness, tra- 
velling expenses and all other matters, for which the Cir- 
cuits cannot provide, shall first meet with the approbation 
of the Quarterly-Meetings, and be signed by the General 
Steward of the Circuit, before they can be brought to the 
District-Committee. 

II. No Circuits shall be divided, till such division has 
been approved by the respective Quarterly-Meetings, and 
signed by the General Steward. 

III. Before any Superintendent propose a Preacher to 
the Conference as proper to be admitted on trial, such 
Preacher must be approved of at the March Quarterly- 
Meeting. 1797. 

IV. Let the following Rule, made at Leeds in 1801, be 
strictly enforced, viz. ""if any Circuit petition the Confer- 
ence for a Preacher, and the petition be granted, every ex- 



OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETIES. 171 

traordinary expense, incurred by the removal of such 
Preacher to his New Circuit, shall be borne by that Cir- 
cuit." 1805. 

V. Q. Are any further Regulations necessary, with re- 
spect to our financial affairs ? 

A. We advise, that in all the Circuits, where it is not 
already done, the allowance for the Preachers' Wives shall 
be immediately raised to sixteen guineas per annum, and 
the allowance for the children to six guineas. 1806. 

VI. Q. It appears, that in a few Quarterly-Meetings, 
the Superintendent and the other Travelling Preachers 
have been desired to withdraw on certain occasions. What 
is the judgment of the Conference on this point ? 

A. We judge, that if the Superintendent of a Circuit, 
or any of his Colleagues, be obliged to withdraw from a 
Quarterly-Meeting during its sittings, the Meeting will be 
thereby dissolved : and we will receive no letters nor in- 
formation from such Meeting on any account. 1806. 

VII. Q. Is any direction necessary respecting the allow- 
ances to be made to Preachers for the education of their 
Sons? 

A. Those of our Brethren who have Sons that are not 
sent to Kingswood-school, though of the proper age, are 
authorised to receive, in future, the usual allowance for 
Children from their Circuits, in addition to the allowance 
made in such cases from the Kingswood School Fund. 1808. 

VIII. Let the old Rule be revived and enforced, which 
directs, that in every Quarterly-Meeting the salaries of the 
Preachers' Wives, stationed on the Circuit, shall be first 
paid, before any other demands are discharged. 1809. 

IX. Married Preachers are to be stationed, in future, in 
all the Circuits in proportion to the numbers in Society. 

N. B. To provide as much as possible for additional 
married Preachers, where single Preachers are now sta- 
tioned, imperious necessity has compelled the Conference 
to adopt, as a general principle, the above Rule. And it 
appears on a fair calculation, that on this principle, one 
married Preacher ought to be sent, where there are 450 
members — two where there are 900 — three where there are 
1350, and so on. 1813. 

X. No additional single Preacher can be sent, in future, 
to any Circuit, unless such Circuit engage to support an 
additional married Preacher, instead of the single Preacher 
at the end of four years at the latest. 1813. 

XI. It is agreed, that the recommendation of the Con- 
ference in 1821, " Not to introduce the subject of petition- 
ing for Preachers earlier than the March Quarterly-Meet- 
ing," shall be repeated this year; and that the Preachers 



172 OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETIES. 

shall be required not to answer any letters of request 
which may be written in violation of that recommendation. 
3 823.— [Rescinded in 182/.] 

XII. In order to promote the ministerial improvement 
of our junior Preachers, during their probation, by facili- 
tating their acquisition of our standard Works, and of other 
suitable Theological Books, we again earnestly recommend 
to the Quarterly-Meetings of those Circuits in which such 
Preachers are stationed while on trial, to allow them a sum 
of not less than One Guinea per Quarter, in addition to their 
usual salary, to be laid out in the purchase of Books under 
the direction of their Superintendent and other Colleagues. 
Every Superintendent is required to bring this Recom- 
mendation before the Quarterly-Meeting of his Circuit, if 
it have not been already adopted. 1826. 



173 



IV. RULES OF THE BAND SOCIETIES .* 

The design of our meeting, is to obey that command of 
God, Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one 
another that ye may be healed. 

To this end, we intend, 

1. To meet once a week, at the least. 

2. To come punctually at the hour appointed, without 
some extraordinary reason. 

3. To begin (those of us who are present) exactly at the 
hour, with singing and prayer. 

4. To speak each of us in order, freely and plainly, the 
true state of our souls, with the faults we have committed 
in thought, word, or deed, and the temptations we have felt 
since our last meeting. 



* Mr. Wesley drew up these Rules, December 25 th, 1738, with the 
following title : " Orders of a Religious Society, Met together in obedience 
to that command of God by St. James, chap. v. 16, Confess your faults 
one to another, and pray one for another that ye may be healed." By 
the Bands were meant little companies, not less than five nor more than 
ten, who met together for the above purpose. In 1742, Mr. Wesley insti- 
tuted the Select Society or Band. The persons to be admitted into this 
Band, were, 1. Persons who were earnestly athirst for the full image of 
God. 2. Those who continually walked in the light of God, having fel- 
lowship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. Mr. Wesley says, "I 
saw it might be useful to give some advice to all those, who thus continue 
in the light of God's countenance, which the rest of their brethren did not 
want, and probably could not receive. So I desired a small number of 
such as appeared to be in this state, to spend an hour with me every Mon- 
day morning. My design was, not only to direct them how to press after 
perfection ; to exercise their every grace, and improve every talent they 
had received, and to incite them to love one another more, and to watch 
more carefully over each other ; but also to have a select company, to 
whom I might unbosom myself on all occasions, without reserve; and 
whom I could propose to all their brethren as a pattern of love, of holi- 
ness, and of all good works They had no need of being incumbered with 
many rules, having the best rule of all in their hearts. No peculiar 
directions were therefore given to them ; excepting only these three, 1 . 
Let nothing spoken in this Society be spoken again. (Hereby we had 
the more full confidence ineuch other.) 2. Every member agrees to 
submit to his Minister in all indifferent things. 3. Every member will 
bring once a week, all he can spare towards a common stock. Every 
one here has an equal liberty of speaking, there being none greater 
or less than another. I could say freely to these, when they were met 
together, ' Ye may all prophesy one by one ' (taking that word in its 
lowest sense), ' that all may learn, and all may be comforted.' And 1 often 
found the advantage of such a free conversation, and that ' in the multi- 
tude of counsellors, there is safety.' And whoever was inclined so to do, I 
likewise encouraged, to pour out his soul to God. And here especially 
we have found, that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man 
availeth much." 



174 RULES OF THE BAND SOCIETIES. 

5. To end every meeting with prayer, suited to the state 
of each person present. 

6. To desire some person among us to speak his own 
state first, and then to ask the rest in order, as many and 
as searching questions as may be, concerning their state, 
sins, and temptations. 

Some of the questions proposed to every one before he is 
admitted among us, may be to this effect : — 

1. Have you the forgiveness of your sins ? 

2. Have you peace with God, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ ? 

3. Have you the witness of God's Spirit with your spirit, 
that you are a child of God ? 

4. Is the love of God shed abroad in your heart ? 

5. Has no sin, inward or outward, dominion over you ? 

6. Do you desire to be told of your faults ? 

7. Do you desire to be told of all your faults, and that 
plain and home ? 

8. Do you desire, that every one of us should tell you 
from time to time, whatsoever is in his heart concerning 
you? 

' 9- Consider ! Do you desire we should tell you what- 
soever we think, whatsoever we fear, whatsoever we hear, 
concerning you ? 

10. Do you desire, that in doing this, we should come as 
close as possible, that we should cut to the quick, and search 
your heart to the bottom ? 

11. Is it your desire and design, to be on this and all 
other occasions, entirely open, so as to speak every thing 
that is in your heart, without exception, without disguise, 
and without reserve ? 

Any of the preceding questions may be asked as often as 
occasion offers : the four following at every meeting : — 

1. What known sins have you committed since our last 
meeting ? 

2. What temptations have you met with ? 

3. How were you delivered ? 

4. What have you thought, said, or done, of which you 
doubt whether it be sin or not ? 



DIRECTIONS GIVEN TO THE BAND SOCIETIES .* 
You are supposed to have the Faith that overcometh the 
world. To you, therefore, it is not grievous, 

I. Carefully to abstain from doing evil : in particular, 
1 . Neither to buy nor sell any thing at all on the Lord's- 
day. 

* These directions were drawn up December 25, 1744. 



RULES OF THE BAND SOCIETIES. 175 

2. To taste no spirituous liquor, no dram of any kind, un« 
less prescribed by a physician. 

3. To be at a word both in buying- and selling. 

4. Ho pawn nothing, no, not to save life.* 

5 . Not to mention the fault of any behind his back, and to 
stop those short that do. 

6. To wear no needless ornaments, such as rings, ear-rings, 
necklaces, lace ruffles. 

7. To use no needless self-indulgence, such as taking snuff 
or tobacco, unless prescribed by a physician. 

II. Zealously to maintain good works : in particular, 

1. To give alms of such things as you possess, and that 
to the uttermost of your power. 

2. To reprove' all that sin in your sight, and that in love 
and meekness of wisdom. 

3. To be patterns of diligence and frugality, o£ self -denial, 
and taking up the cross daily. 

III. Constantly to attend on all the Ordinances of God : 
in particular, 

1. To be at Church, and at the Lord's table every week, 
and at every public meeting of Bands. 

2. To attend the ministry of the Word every morning, 
unless, distance, business, or sickness prevent. 

3. To use private prayer every day ; and family prayer, 
if you are the head of a family. 

4. To read the Scriptures, and meditate therein, at every 
vacant hour. And, 

5. To observe, as days of fasting or abstinence, all Fri~ 
days in the year. 

1. Q. What can be done to revive and extend Band 
Meetings ? 

A. 1. Let every Superintendent address to the believers 
under his care, met in their respective Societies, a strong 
and appropriate exhortation on the excellency of Band 
Meetings. 

2. Let him meet all the Leaders of the Societies, and 
form out of their classes as many bands as possible, from 
those believers who do not at present meet in band, and 
who are willing so to do ; putting into each band those 
who are most acquainted with each other. 

3. Let him afterwards receive the applications of all the 
members of the bands with the utmost kindness and atten- 

* When this Rule was made, giving or taking things in pawn was 
illegal, as well as liighly injurious (as it ever has heen), to the morals of 
the people. 



176 RULES OF THE BAND SOCIETIES. 

tion, so as to remove them from one band to another, and 
to meet the desires of each as far as possible. 

4. The Weekly Meetings, commonly called the Meetings 
of the Public Bands, shall be established and attentively 
preserved, wherever the number of those who meet in band 
will admit of it. 

5. Love-feasts for the members of the Band Societies 
shall be occasionally held in every place where it is prac- 
ticable. 1812. 

II. We again exhort all our People, who have opportu- 
tunity, to meet in Band, as an old-established usage in our 
Connexion, and an important means of improvement in 
personal religion : and the Preachers are directed to hold 
General Meetings of the Bands in every Society where it is 
practicable. 1821. 



177 

V. PUBLIC WORSHIP AND FAMILY 
RELIGION. 

I. RULES CONCERNING PUBLIC WORSHIP. 

I. Q. Are there any of our former Rules which are 
either forgotten or overlooked, and which it would be well 
to bring forward into the view of our Preachers and people ? 

A. We conceive there are, such as the following : — 
Minutes, 1782. Let no anthems be introduced into our 
Chapels (unless on extraordinary occasions, and with the 
consent of the Superintendent), because they cannot be 
properly called joint worship. Also we agree with our late 
Rev. Father, that our own tunes should be learned and sung 
in preference to others, as in these the whole congregation 
can in general join. 

See also, p. 77, Large Minutes, namely, " Do not suffer 
the people to sing too slow. This naturally tends to for- 
mality, and is brought in by them who have either very 
strong or very weak voices. Let the women constantly 
sing their parts alone. Let no man sing with them, unless 
he understands the notes, and sings the bass, as it is pricked 
down in the book. Let no organ be placed any where, till 
proposed in the Conference. Recommend our tune-book 
every where : and, if you cannot sing yourself, choose a 
person or two in each place to pitch the tune for you. Ex- 
hort every one in the congregation to sing, not one in ten 
only. If a Preacher be present, let no singer give out the 
words." 1796. . 

II. Q. Are there any directions to be given, in respect 
to the singing of anthems in the congregations ? 

A. We desire that the minute which our late venerable 
Father in Christ, Mr. Wesley, first printed on this sub- 
ject, and which still continues in our Large Minutes, be 
strictly attended to ; and that it be inserted in the Minutes 
of the present year, to stir us up to remembrance. 

" Is not formality, in singing, creeping in, singing those 
complex tunes and anthems, which it is scarcely possible 
to sing with devotion ? The repeating the same words so 
often, and especially while another is repeating other words 
(the horrid abuse which runs through the modern church- 
music), as it shocks all common sense, so it necessarily 
brings in dead formality, and has no religion in it. Besides, 
it is a flat contradiction to our Lord's command, ' Use not 
vain repetitions :' for what is a vain repetition, if this is not? 
What end of devotion does it serve ? Sing no anthems." 
1799. 

III. Q. Do we sufficiently explain and enforce practical 
religion, and attend to the preservation of order and regu- 

I 2 



178 PUBLIC WORSHIP AND FAMILY RELIGION. 

larity in our Meetings for prayer, and other acts of divine 
worship ? 

A. Perhaps not. We fear there has sometimes been 
irregularity in some of the Meetings. And we think that 
some of our hearers are in danger of mistaking emotions 
of the affections for experimental and practical god- 
liness. To remedy or prevent, as far as possible, these 
errors, let Mr. Wesley's Extract of Mr. Edwards' Pamphlet 
on Religious Affections, be circulated among our people. 
1800. 

IV. Q. Can any thing be done to prevent, what appears 
to us a great evil ; namely, bands of music and Theatrical 
singers being brought into our Chapels, when Charity- 
Sermons are to be preached ? 

A. Let none in our Connexion preach Charity- Sermons, 
where such persons and such music are introduced. And 
let the Stewards, Trustees, and Leaders, be informed, that 
such a practice is offensive to the Conference, who believe 
it has been hurtful to the minds of many pious people. 
1800. 

V. Q. Should Women be permitted to preach among us? 
A. We are of opinion that, in general, they ought not. 

1. Because a vast majority of our people are opposed to it. 

2. Because their preaching does not at all seem necessary, 
there being a sufficiency of Preachers, whom God has 
accredited; to supply all the places in our Connexion with 
regular preaching. But if any woman among us think she 
has an extraordinary call from God to speak in public, 
(and we are sure it must be an extraordinary call that can 
authorise it,) we are of opinion she should, in general, ad- 
dress her own sex, and those only. And, upon this condition 
alone, should any woman be permitted to preach in any 
part of our connexion : and, when so permitted, it should 
he under the following Regulations: 1. They shall not 
preach in the Circuit where they reside, until they have 
obtained the approbation of the Superintendent and a 
Quarterly-Meeting. 2. Before they go into any other 
Circuit to preach, they shall have a written invitation from 
the Superintendent of such Circuit, and a recommendatory 
note from the Superintendent of their own Circuit.* 1803. 

* At the thirty-second Irish Conference, held in Dublin in 1802, there 
was a serious debate upon the Propriety of Women Preaching and Ex- 
horting in Public Congregations. The debate ended in the adoption of 
the following Rule : " It is the judgment of the Conference, that it is 
contrary both to Scripture and prudence, that women should preach, or 
should exhort in public ; and we direct the Superintendents to refuse a 
Society ticket to any woman in the Methodist Connexion who preaches. 
or who exhorts in any public congregation, unless she entirely cease 
from so doing." 



PUBLIC WORSHIP AND FAMILY RELIGION. 179 

VI. Q. Are any Regulations necessary with regard to 
singing ? 

A. 1. Let no instruments of music be introduced into 
the singers' seats, except a bass-viol, should the principal 
singer require it. 

2. Let no Book of Hymns be henceforth used in our 
Chapels, except the Hymns-Books printed for our Book- 
Room. 

3. Let no Pieces, as they are called, in which Recitatives, 
by single men, Solos, by single women, Fuguing, (or differ- 
ent words sung by different voices at the same time,) are 
introduced, be sung in our Chapels. 

4. Let the original, simple, grave and devotional style be 
carefully preserved, which, instead of drawing the attention 
to singing and the singers, is so admirably calculated to 
draw off the attention from both, and to raise the soul to 
God only. 

5. Let no musical Festivals, or, as they are sometimes 
termed, Selections of Sacred Music, be either encouraged 
or permitted in any of our Chapels ; in which performances, 
the genuine dignity of spiritual worship is grossly abused, 
under the pretence of getting money for charitable pur- 
poses, which we have sufficient proof has been procured as 
amply, where nothing of the kind has been introduced, but 
the Charity recommended to the people in the name of 
God. 

6. Let no Preacher suffer any thing to be done in the 
Chapel where he officiates but what is according to the es- 
tablished usages of Methodism ; knowing that he is ac- 
countable to God for whatever he does, or permits to be 
done during the times he is in possession of the pulpit. 

7. Let no Preacher, therefore, suffer his right to conduct 
every part of the worship of Almighty God to be infringed 
on, either by singers or others, but let him sacredly pre- 
serve, and calmly maintain his authority, as he who sacrifices 
this sacrifices not only Methodism, but the spirit and de- 
sign of Christianity. 1805. 

VII. Q. Is any advise necessary respecting the Lord's 
Supper ? 

A. We once more earnestly beseech all the Members of 
our Societies, conscientiously to attend this sacred Ordi- 
nance of God our Saviour at every opportunity ; and do 
entreat them to approach the Lord's Table, at least, once in 
every month, either in our own Chapels or elsewhere ; and 
to make a point of staying till the whole service be con- 
cluded. 1806. 

VIII. Q. It is stated, that some of the Brethren have 
neglected to enforce Band Meetings; and that, what are 



180 PUBLIC WORSHIP AND FAMILY RELIGION. 

called Fellowship Meetings have been set up in their place. 
Can this be permitted ? 

A. By no means. We require all our Superintendents to 
restore the proper Methodist Meetings, wherever they have 
been superseded or neglected ; and not to suffer any person 
to be admitted into them, without a note or a ticket from a 
Travelling Preacher : and we determine that no Love-feasts, 
nor Band Meetings shall be held without the approbation 
of the Superintendent. 1S06. 

IX. Q. What is the judgment of the Conference con- 
cerning what are called Camp-Meetings ? 

A. It is our judgment, that even supposing such Meet- 
ings to be allowable in America, they are highly improper 
in England, and likely to be productive of considerable 
mischief. And we disclaim all connexion with them. 1807. 

X. Q. What directions are necessary respecting public 
worship ? 

A. 1. We request that all our Chapels may be furnished 
with hassocks, or with kneeling boards ; so that every ex- 
cuse may be taken away from those who persist in the irre- 
verent and unscriptural custom of sitting while at prayer. 

2. We desire that all our Preachers will strongly urge on 
their congregations, the propriety and importance of stand- 
ing while they sing the praises of God. 

3. Where Organs have been already introduced, the 
Conference requires that they shall be so used as not to 
overpower or supersede, but only to assist our congregational 
singing : and that they shall be considered as under the 
control of the Superintendent, or of the officiating Preacher 
for the time being, whose right and duty it is to conduct 
every part of the public worship of God. Let no volunta- 
ries be played during the time of divine service; and let 
all the Rules respecting singing and instrumental music, 
u r hich were made at the Sheffield Conference, in 1805, and 
published in the Minutes of that year, be uniformly en- 
forced. 1808. 

XI. Q. What directions shall be given concerning the 
administration of Baptism among us ? 

A. 1. Let that ordinance, if possible, be always admi- 
nistered in the public congregation. 

2. Let us administer it, in general, only to the children 
of our own members, and those of our regular hearers. 

3. Let a small fee be taken for registering baptisms where 
the parents can afford to pay it; and let all such fees, after 
defraying the expense of the register-book, be given to the 
poor, or added to some of our public funds. 1812. 

XII. Q. What directions are necessary with respect to 
our Congregational singing ? 



PUBLIC WORSHIP AND FAMILY RELIGION. 181 

A. 1. Let no singing be allowed in any of our Chapels, 
after the public service has been regularly closed by the 
Officiating Preacher; as we think that singing at such 
times tends to extinguish the spirit of devotion, and to 
destroy those serious impressions which may have been 
made on the Congregations by the previous Ministry of 
God's Word. 

2. Let our Rules respecting Singing, and especially those 
which restrict the use of Instrumental Music in our public 
worship, as published in our Minutes for the year 1805, 
[see No. VI.] be uniformly enforced. 

3. Let the excellent Paper, inserted by Mr. Wesley in 
the Arminian Magazine for 1781, and entitled, "Thoughts 
on the Power of Music," be immediately reprinted in the 
Magazine, and also published in a separate form, that copies 
may be sent to every Circuit. And let the Preachers pro- 
mote, as much as possible, the restoration (in our Public 
Singing) of the style of Music which that Paper recom- 
mends, and which is exemplified in many of our best and 
oldest Tunes. 

4. Let our Preachers take care to examine the Hymns 
which are to be sung in our Chapels, when Charity Ser- 
mons are to be preached, or on other particular occasions ; 
and let them reject all those which are not decidedly unob- 
jectionable in point of sentiment and of poetry; and we 
earnestly recommend that our own authorised Hymns be 
generally preferred for all such purposes. 

XIII. Q. What further Regulation is expedient with re- 
spect to our Public Worship ? 

A. 1. The following Articles in the Plan of Pacification, 
adopted in the year 1795, shall be re-published in our 
Minutes ; and the Preachers are desired to remember that 
they are standing Rules of the Connexion : viz. 

" The Lord's Supper shall be always administered in 
England, according to the form of the Established Church ; 
but the person who administers shall have full liberty to 
give out hymns, and to use exhortations and extemporary 
prayer. 

" Wherever Divine Service is performed in England, on 
the Lord's-day, in Church Hours, the Officiating Preacher 
shall read either the service of the Established Church, our 
venerable Father's Abridgment, or at least the Lessons ap- 
pointed by the Calendar ; but we recommend either the full 
Service or the Abridgment. 

2. With a view to the full execution of these Rules, and 
in order to meet the case of those of our Societies, at home 
and abroad, who in accordance with the recommendation 
of the Conference, make use of Mr. Wesley's Abridgment 



182 PUBLIC WORSHIP AND FAMILY RELIGION. 

of the Liturgy, our Book-Committee shall, without loss of 
time, publish and advertise a new edition of the said 
Abridgment, both in the duodecimo size for individual 
accommodation, and in the quarto size to be used in the 
Pulpits. 1815. 

XIV. The Conference recommend to our Congregations, 
on the Lord's-day Forenoon, the use of the Psalms and 
Hymns, first collected by Mr. "Wesley, enlarged by Dr. 
Coke, and now used in some of our Chapels in London. 
1816. 

XV. What is the decision of the Conference on the erec- 
tion of Organs in our Chapels ? 

A. "We think that in some of the larger Chapels, where 
some Instrumental Music may be deemed expedient in 
order to guide the Congregational Singing, Organs may 
be allowed, by Special Consent of the Conference : but 
every Application for such Consent shall be first made at 
the District-Meeting; and if it obtain their sanction, shall 
be then referred to a Committee at the Conference, who 
shall report their opinion as to the propriety of acceding to 
the Request, and also as to the Restrictions with which the 
Permission to erect an Organ ought, in that particular 
case, to be accompanied. 1820. 

XVI. We advise our Preachers to revive the general use 
of the Sacramental Hymns, when they administer the Lord's 
Supper; and strongly to recommend the private use of 
them to our People, as likely to promote a devout and pro- 
fitable attendance on that holy Ordinance. 1825. 

XVII. As it appears that in a few of the Circuits the 
Supplement to our Hymn-Book has not yet been intro- 
duced, it is the judgment of the Conference that its adop- 
tion in our public worship ought to be universal, as greatly 
tending to the spiritual edification of our people : it is 
therefore directed that the Supplement be used with the 
large Hymn-Book in all our Chapels. 1832. 

II. RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING FAMILY 
RELIGION. 

I. Q. What further measures can the Conference adopt, 
in order to promote the spiritual benefit of the families of 
our people ? 

A. We most earnestly recommend to all Methodist 
parents, and heads of families, regular and serious atten- 
tion to the duty of catechising, and otherwise instructiiig, 
by free and affectionate conversations on the subject of 
religion, their children and servants. And we advise that 
in every family some convenient season should be statedly 
and sacredly set apart, on every Lord's-day, in the intervals 



PUBLIC WORSHIP AND FAMILY RELIGION. 183 

of public worship, for these most important purposes ; and 
that, according to the directions in our Minutes of last 
year, Mr. Wesley's Instructions for Children should be used 
in every Methodist house. 1809. 

II. Q. Can any thing be done, in order more effectually 
to promote family religion among our people ? 

A. 1. We again earnestly enforce upon all the people under 
our care a conscientious and uniform attention to this im- 
portant subject ; and solemnly exhort them to maintain the 
practice of daily prayer in their houses ; to have stated 
times allotted for this purpose ; to fix their morning worship, 
for instance, just before breakfast, and their evening worship 
just before supper ; to make the daily reading of the Holy 
Scriptures a constant part of their domestic devotion ; to 
require not only some but all the members of their respec- 
tive families to be present at the time of family worship ; 
and to allow of no excuses, except in case of sickness, or 
other unavoidable emergencies ; and, once at least in every 
week, to catechise their children and servants, and converse 
with them individually on the business of religion. 

2. We require all our Preachers to make particular in- 
quiries into the state of family religion in their Circuits ; 
to enforce the duties above-mentioned in the Leaders'- 
Meetings and in the Society-Meetings ; and to speak on 
the subject closely and strongly to every class, in their 
Quarterly Visitations of the Societies. 1811. 

III. For the spiritual benefit of our people, and in order 
that the blessing of God may rest upon their families, we 
earnestly press upon them the orderly and devout exercise 
of family worship, accompanied by a deliberate reading of 
the Holy Scriptures. In order to a due discharge of this 
most important duty, a suitable portion of time should be 
conscientiously set apart on the morning and evening of 
every day, when the attendance of all the members of the 
family, including the servants, should be required. 1821. 



184 



Sfjs ;ffun&0* 



I. THE CONTINGENT FUND.* 

1. Q. What plan can we adopt to meet the increased ex- 
penses of our Connexion ? 

A. 1. Let every Superintendent exert himself to the ut- 
termost, in order to raise in his Circuit the sum of one 
shilling, on the average, for each member for the Yearly- 
Collection. 

2. Let no more than twelve pounds be allowed in future, 
from our General Funds, towards the funeral expenses of 
any Preacher. 

3. Let the allowance granted, in certain cases, towards 
the purchase of furniture for new Preachers' houses, be 
reduced to twenty pounds. 

4. Let no Circuit be divided, nor any additional Preacher 
sent to any Circuit in future, until it has been distinctly 
proved, first, that there will be sufficient employment for 
all the Preachers who are sent ; and, secondly, That the 

* The origin of this Fund was so far back as 1749, and was instituted 
by Mr. Wesley himself, under the denomination of the " General Fund." 
It was then ordered, that every Preacher, on visiting the Classes at Christ- 
mas in that year, should propose to receive a subscription from the mem- 
bers at the visitation following ; namely, in March. A number of" hints" 
were printed, to be " read and enlarged upon " on the occasion. The 
object of this Fund was to pay the debts of poor Circuits, to pay tra- 
velling expenses of Preachers sent on missions to Ireland and Scotland, 
and to defray tbe charges of criminal informations in the King's Bench 
against rioters. " Let none," said Mr. Wesley, " be excluded from giv- 
ing something, be it a penny, a half penny, a farthing ; and let those who 
are able to give shillings, crowns, and pounds, do it willingly."— In 1772, 
the " General Fund " falling short of the demands upon it, it was re- 
solved, " instead of a subscription," to '"' mate a collection at every 
Preaching-house some time in autumn;" which, at the ensuing Confer- 
ence, was to be " returned to every house that was in debt, (provided it 
were old debt, not otherwise) at least what was collected there ;" showing 
that the Chapel, as well as Circuit debts, fell upon this Fund at that 
time. Such was the origin and design of what is usually called the 
Yearly Collection, and which still constitutes the chief source of income 
to the Contingent Fund. 



THE CONTINGENT FUND. 185 

expense resulting from such an enlargement of the work, 
can be provided by the Circuits concerned. 

5. Let it be seriously inquired, whether several Circuits 
which have hitherto had single Preachers appointed for 
them, ought not immediately to make provision for an 
additional married Preacher and his family. 

6. We once more recommend most earnestly to all our 
Societies, a strict compliance with that original Rule, which 
Mr. Wesley established at the first institution of Methodism ; 
and which requires, that, upon an average, each member 
shall pay, for the support of the work, one penny per week 
in the classes ; and one shilling per quarter, in addition to 
the weekly contribution, at each renewal of the tickets. 
And that this important part of our financial economy may 
be more fully known and observed, let our old Rules on the 
subject be re-printed in every future edition of the Society 
Rules. 1812. 

II. Q. How may we secure a greater degree of accuracy 
in our printed Minutes and Accounts ? 

A. Let the proof sheets of all the Annual Accounts be 
sent to the Clerks, to whose departments they respectively 
belong ; and let the proof sheets of all the other parts of 
the Minutes be sent to the Secretary, and to the Sub-Secre- 
tary; before the said Accounts and Minutes be finally 
struck off. 1813. 

III. It is agreed, that all claims on the Contingent Fund 
for travelling expenses, shall first pass through a Quarterly- 
Meeting, and be signed by the Circuit-Steward, as ap- 
proved, before they are proposed to the District-Meeting, 
or to the Conference. 1815. 

IV. Q. What measures shall be adopted with a view to 
the permanent improvement of our general Finances, as 
they respect the Contingent Fund ? 

A. 1. We agree, that in future no Preacher shall receive 
from that Fund the allowance for a servant, unless he have 
travelled ten years at least, or unless he have one or more 
children. When a Preacher, not having travelled ten years, 
has only one child, he shall be allowed only four pounds 
annually, towards the expense of a servant ; but if he have 
more than one child, he may claim the full allowance of 
eight pounds per annum. 

2. No Circuit shall receive from the Contingent Fund 
any sum for its Ordinary Deficiencies, in which the regular 
allowance for board to each Preacher has been more than 
fourteen shillings weekly ; except, (1.) The private yearly 
collection, raised in such Circuit, shall exceed the amount 
of its claims for Ordinary Deficiencies ; or except, (2.) The 
family of the Preacher, towards whose support such Defi- 



186 THE CONTINGENT FUND. 

ciencies are asked, shall include more than four children 
chargeable on the Circuit ; or except, (3.) The Preacher, 
towards whose support the Deficiencies are asked, shall have 
travelled more than twenty years ; or except, (4.) The 
District-Meeting, on examining the case, shall be of opinion 
that there are peculiar circumstances which should induce 
them to recommend to the Conference, and the Conference 
shall consequently grant a special exemption from this 
Rule. 

N. B. Although the Conference have deemed it necessary 
to adopt the foregoing Regulations, in order to prevent a 
premature increase of allowances for board in those Circuits 
which are not able to provide for that increase by their own 
local resources, without bringing claims on the Contingent 
Fund, — they at the same time take this opportunity of 
renewing their former recommendation, that the stated 
allowance for board shall not in any case be less than ten 
shillings and sixpence per week for each married Preacher 
and his family. 

3. The Conference directs and requires the Chairman, 
and other members of every District-Meeting, to be very 
exact in the examination of all claims on the Contingent 
Fund for the article of house-rent, and to make every pro- 
per and possible reduction in that branch of our general 
expenditure. 1817- [Confirmed in 1818.] 

V. Q. What method shall we adopt to ensure the con- 
tinuance in future years of that freedom from Debt, as it 
respects the General Fund of our Connexion, commonly 
called the Contingent Fund, which has this year been ac- 
complished ? 

A. 1. The Conference, having no means of assisting 
those Circuits, which cannot wholly bear their own ex- 
penses, but by dispensing the sum, which is annually con- 
tributed in the Yearly and July Collections, and augmented. 
by the Profits of our Book-Concern, are obliged to resolve, 
that their Grants to Deficient Circuits shall in future be 
limited as nearly as possible to the probable amount of the 
Sum, thus placed from year to year at their disposal ; so 
that the expenditure may not usually or materially exceed 
the estimated income of the Connexion. 

2. A Committee shall therefore be annually appointed, as 
soon as possible after the Stations of the Preachers are 
settled, who shall investigate the past claims of every 
Circuit for Ordinary Deficiencies, and consider, in con- 
nexion with the former Grants to that Circuit from the 
Contingent Fund, any improvement or declension which 
may have occurred in its local resources, as well as any 
increase or decrease of pecuniary burden which may be 



THE CONTINGENT FUND. 187 

occasioned by the change of Preachers ; and after taking 
all circumstances into their view, and comparing the total 
amount of fair and reasonable claims with the probable 
amount of the Contingent Fund for the ensuing year, shall 
then determine the Maximum of the Grants to be made for 
that year to each Circuit towards its ordinary expenses, so 
as to make the best distribution in their power of the whole 
Sum likely to become disposable for such purposes. A 
proper Sum shall be reserved for Extraordinary Deficiencies, 
to be distributed at the ensuing Conference in the usual 
way. 

3. The District-Meetings shall carefully examine all 
claims for Ordinaries, and if, from the more accurate in- 
formation which local investigation may afford, or from any 
favourable change of circumstances which may occur in 
Circuits between the Conference and the District-Meeting, 
— or for any other reason, — they shall be of opinion that a 
smaller Sum than that which the Committee had provision- 
ally allowed, will meet the actual necessities of any Circuit, 
they shall reduce the Grant to such Circuit accordingly, 
and carry the Surplus, thus left unappropriated to the fol- 
lowing Conference, who will apply the same to augment the 
Disposable Income of the succeeding year. 

4. The District-Meeting shall in no case allow to the Cir- 
cuits, for the current year, a larger sum than was specified 
as the Maximum for each Circuit, in the previous Grant of 
the Committee ; but they may, if they see reason for it, 
recommend to the Committee of the following Conference 
the allowance of a larger sum for the succeeding year. 

5. In making their final annual distribution among the 
Circuits of the Sums allowed by the Committee, the Dis- 
trict-Meetings shall first pay out of the Sums voted for each 
Circuit, if sufficient for that purpose, any Deficiencies 
which the Circuit-Stewards may not have discharged, in 
the Articles of Preachers'' Quarterage, Wives' Quarterage, 
(when directed to be paid by the Districts,) and Servants* 
Quarterage. The Remainder, if any, of the Sum which 
they were permitted to distribute to that Circuit, may be 
allowed under the Article of House-rent, or of Coals and 
Candles. In all cases, the money allowed shall be finally 
distributed to the Circuits, and entered on the District- 
Minutes, not in one gross sum, but for specific purposes, 
comprehended under some one or more of the regular 
Articles of Ordinary Deficiencies, above-mentioned. 

6. The Committee to be appointed at this Conference 
shall determine absolutely the Maximum of the Sums to be 
granted towards Ordinary Deficiencies, out of the Contingent 
Fund of 1820. But on account of their want of time and 



188 THE CONTINGENT FUND. 

means for a minute and perfect investigation of the neces- 
sities of every individual Circuit, they are directed to ap- 
portion their Allowances for 1S20 to the Districts collectively . 
The Sum so voted as the Maximum for each District shall 
be announced to the Special Financial District-Meetings, to 
be held in September next, who shall then proceed to make 
a subdivision of it, among the several Circuits which need 
help, according to their discretion, but subject to the ge- 
neral principles laid down in the preceding Articles of this 
Resolution, and shall give notice to every Circuit what is 
the largest sum that can possibly be spared for its assistance 
in Ordinaries for the year 1819-20. After the present year, 
the Committee at the Conference shall annually consider 
the proper Grants for each individual Circuit, on the plan 
already described. 

7- As the annual Committees, in estimating the probable 
Income of the Contingent Fund for the following year will 
naturally take the Yearly Collection at its amount during the 
preceding year, if in any case it shall be found, at the Dis- 
trict-Meeting, that the said Collection for the current year 
has fallen short in that District of its former amount, a 
correspondent deduction must be made from the Grants to 
the several Circuits who claim assistance, in such propor- 
tion as the Meeting may determine : but so that, on the 
whole, the Deductions from the Grants voted by the Com- 
mittee shall at least be equal to the difference between the 
Yearly Collection of that District in the former and in the 
current year. 1819- 

VI. Q. What Regulation is necessary respecting the 
office of Treasurer of the Contingent Fund f 

A. 1. The Treasurer, appointed at every Conference, 
shall be considered as remaining in that office for the whole 
year, and charged with the transaction of any incidental 
business which may occur, in the interval between that and 
the succeeding Conference, relative to the objects for which 
the Fund is established. 

2. In future, no monies shall be received or paid, on 
account of the Contingent Fund, by the Book- Steward. All 
Collections for that Fund, and all Grants out of it, shall be 
received or paid by the Treasurer and his official Assistants, 
and by them only. The payments for Ordinaries, by the 
District-Meetings, according to the Provisions contained 
in the fifth Article of the preceding Minute, shall be the 
sole exception to this Rule. 1819. 

VII. Q. What is the opinion of this Conference, on 
the operation of the Financial Regulations of last year, 
[see No. V.] respecting the expenditure of the Yearly 



THE CONTINGENT FUND. 189 

Collection, the July Collection, and the profits allowed 
from the Book-Room in aid of the Contingent Fund ? 

A. 1. The effect of the said Regulations has, on the 
whole, proved highly satisfactory; and the Conference is 
decidedly of opinion, that if the plan, modified according 
to the subsequent articles of this minute, continue to be 
firmly supported, it will be productive of much good, by 
preventing the Connexion from being again involved in 
debt, as in former years it frequently has been, by the ex- 
cess of the demands on the Contingent Fund above the 
usual income. 

2. The Conference having appointed by ballot a Commit- 
tee to examine into the claims of each District on the Con- 
tingent Fund, that Committee are directed to meet imme- 
diately after the close of the Conference ; and after a careful 
examination into the whole of the claims, they are, in the 
most impartial manner, to apportion the money which is 
expected to be raised for the Contingent Fund, by the Yearly 
Collection, the July Collection, and the Book- Room. The 
Sum which that Committee shall grant to each District, 
shall be the final allotment for the year 1821 : an account 
of which Financial Arrangement shall be published in the 
Minutes of S:his Conference. 

3. It is agreed, that a Special Financial District-Meeting 
shall be held in each District in the month of September, 
consisting of such Preachers as can conveniently attend (the 
Superintendent at least of each Circuit), and also of the 
Circuit Stewards throughout the District, whose presence 
as the Official Financial Representatives of their several 
Circuits, shall be most earnestly requested. The place of 
meeting shall be determined by the Chairman, and the time 
shall be so fixed, as to precede the Michaelmas Quarterly- 
Meetings. 

4. In that special Financial District- Meeting, the amount 
of money which is allowed by the Conference to the District 
shall be stated ; the probable expenditure of each Circuit, 
which may have claims on the Contingent Fund, shall be 
then considered ; and the money granted by the Conference 
for that District shall be as fairly and impartially appor- 
tioned to the Circuits as possible. It must be remembered, 
that if the Yearly Collection for the ensuing year shall be 
less in amount than was raised the last year in that District, 
there must be a correspondent reduction, at the time of the 
regular District-Meeting in 1821, from the sums which had 
been allowed by the September District-Meeting to Circuits 
claiming assistance, in such proportion as the meeting may 
determine ; but so that, on the whole, the deductions shall 



190 THE CONTINGENT FUND. 

at least be equal to the difference between the Yearly Col- 
lection of that District in the former and in the current 
year. And even when the Yearly Collection shall equal its 
former amount, the total sum divided among the Circuits 
shall in no case exceed, for that year, what was apportioned 
to that District at the Conference. 

5. In making their distribution among the Circuits of the 
sums allowed by the Conference, the September District- 
Meetings shall first allow out of the sum intended for each 
Circuit, if sufficient for that purpose, any deficiencies which 
the Circuit Stewards may not be likely to be able to dis- 
charge, in the Articles of Preachers' Quarterage, Wives' 
Quarterage (when agreed to be paid, in whole or in part, 
by the Districts), and Servants' Quarterage. The remainder, 
if any, of the sum which they distribute to that Circuit, 
must be allowed under the Articles of House-rent, or of 
Coals and Candles. In all cases, the money allowed shall 
be'finally distributed to the Circuits, and entered on the 
District-Minutes, not in one gross sum, but for specific 
purposes, comprehended under some one or more of the re- 
gular Articles of Ordinary Deficiencies above mentioned. 
1820. 

VIII. The Conference directs, that no Preacher shall be 
allowed to retain any part of the July Collection, for the 
purpose of paying his own Deficiencies; but that every 
Superintendent shall pay the entire sum, received in his 
Circuit, into the hands of the General Treasurer of the 
Contingent Fund, 1820. 

IX. Q. How are the usual allowances for those Preachers' 
"Wives, who receive them from the Connexion, to be pro- 
vided ? 

A. 1. In general by the Circuits in which the Preachers, 
claiming the said allowances, are stationed. 

2. Where the Financial District-Meetings, to be held in 
September next, are of opinion, after full inquiry, that any 
Circuit will be unable to provide the whole of the Allow- 
ances for the Wives of Preachers stationed in it ; they shall, 
nevertheless, require such Circuits to provide, if possible, a 
part of the sum necessary for that purpose. 

3. All remaining deficiencies in the Wives' allowances, 
shall be provided for by the Financial District-Meetings, 
out of the money placed at the disposal of their Districts 
respectively by the Conference ; and shall be considered as 
part of the Grant made from the Contingent Fund to each 
Circuit concerned, and be so entered in the District-Minutes. 
1821. 

X. Q. What further directions does the Conference give 
in reference to the Contingent Fund ? 



THE CONTINGENT FUND. 191 

A. With a view to assist those Circuits which have Al- 
lowances from the Contingent Fund, in meeting their current 
expenses, and to relieve from embarrassment, during the 
course of the year, the Preachers stationed in such Circuits, 
and, in order at the same time, to provide for a more simple, 
distinct, and systematic arrangement of all our Financial 
Affairs, the Conference resolve as follows : viz. 

1. The Allowances for Ordinary Deficiencies, made out 
of the Contingent Fund, by the Financial District-Meetings 
(which it is now found expedient to hold annually, in the 
month of September, previously to the Michaelmas Quar- 
terly-Meetings), to those Circuits in their several Districts 
which need such assistance, shall in future be paid in all 
cases by Three equal Instalments : viz. One-third 
shall be paid at Christmas ; One-third at the regular Dis- 
trict-Meetings, held in the month of May; and the remain- 
ing Third at the ensuing Conference. 

2. In order to provide for the Payment of the First In- 
stalments due at Christmas, the Treasurer of the Contin- 
gent Fund is hereby directed to remit within one fortnight 
after that time, to the Chairman of every District, a sum 
equal to the Third Part of the whole Money granted to his 
District, for that year, by the Committee of Distribution at 
the preceding Conference ; the receipt of which sum, such 
Chairman shall immediately acknowledge to the Treasurer, 
andfor the proper distribution of whichhe shall then become 
responsible. The Superintendents of those Circuits, to which 
any Allowance was made in September, out of the said 
General Grant to the District, shall apply to the Chairman 
for the third part of such Allowance, and give him a written 
acknowledgment for the same when received. 

3. The Second Instalments of the said Allowances (being, 
as before stated, another Third Part of the whole Grant for 
the Year), which will become due at the regular District- 
Meetings, shall be paid, as far as possible, by the Preachers 
and Stewards, assembled in the said Meetings, out of the 
Monies then received for the Yearly Collection from the Cir- 
cuits in their own District. 

4. If, in any District, the sum received for the Yearly 
Collection be found insufficient to complete the payments 
due to the Circuits for the Second Instalments of their re- 
spective Allowances, the Chairman of that District shall 
immediately transmit to the Treasurer of the Contingent 
Fund an exact account of what has been already paid in 
part, and of the total sum still wanted to make up the said 
Second Instalments ; which sum the Treasurer shall, with 
as little delay as possible, remit to the Chairman for his dis- 
tribution among the Deficient Circuits, on a plan similar 
to that which is directed, in reference to the First Instal- 



192 THE CONTINGENT FUND. 

ments, by the Second Article of this Minute. 

5. If, on the other hand, the sum received in any Dis- 
trict, for the Yearly Collection, shall be more than sufficient 
to pay the Second Instalment of One-third to the deficient 
Circuits included in such District, the Chairman is required 
to remit to the Treasurer of the Contingent Fund, within 
One week after the conclusion of his District-Meeting in 
May, the whole Surplus of Yearly Collection remaining in 
his hands after such payment has been completed ; together 
with a full and distinct statement of the Collections received, 
the Sums paid out of them to the Circuits, and the Amount 
transmitted as Surplus to the Treasurer. 

N. B. A strict attention to this Rule, respecting the pa} r - 
ment of only one-third of the whole Annual Grant, out of 
their own Yearly Collection, at the time of the May District- 
Meeting, and the immediate remittance of the whole Balance 
of that Collection to the Treasurer, is of great importance ; 
because, otherwise, the Treasurer will not have the means 
of paying, in proper time, to those Districts, the amount 
of whose Yearly Collection is comparatively small, the 
Deficiencies of their Second Instalments, as directed by 
the preceding Article ; and because, if more than one-third 
of its whole Grant for the year be detained, out of its Yearly 
Collection, by any District, for the purpose of immediately 
paying to a few Circuits their whole Allowance, many Cir- 
cuits, in Districts differently circumstanced, would be 
thereby deprived of their fair share of the temporary ac- 
commodation, which this plan is designed to provide for all 
who need it. 

6. In order to encourage the Circuits to make proper 
exertions for the augmentation of their Yearly Collections, 
it has been agreed, that if the total amount of those Col- 
lections in any District, as actually paid in at the District- 
Meeting in May, shall be found to exceed the total amount 
raised in the same District in the year preceding, the ad- 
ditional sum so raised may, for thai one year, be divided by 
the said Meeting among the most necessitous Circuits of 
the District, in addition to the Grant voted to it by the Com- 
mittee of Distribution. Such Additions to the last year's 
Collections are not, therefore, to be reckoned as a part of 
the Surplus which must be in all cases transmitted to the 
Treasurer, as directed by the 5th Article of this Minute, 
but may, if needed, be immediately distributed at the Dis- 
trict-Meeting, and so reported in their Minutes. 

7. Two-thirds of the Annual Grant for Ordinaries to each 
District having thus been actually paid to the Circuits, 
among which it had been divided, partly at Christmas, and 
partly, either at the May District-Meeting, or immediately 
after it, — the remaining Third (as well as the Grants for 



THE CONTINGENT FUND. 193 

Extraordinaries), shall be paid, according to our existing 
rules and usages, at the ensuing Conference j when the Ac- 
count for the year will be finally adjusted and settled with 
the Chairman or Representative of every District, and, 
through him, with the Superintendents of those Circuits 
which have claims on the Fund. 

8. The Treasurer of the Contingent Fund is authorised 
to provide for the several Payments directed by the pre- 
ceding Articles, as follows : viz. 

(1.) For the First Instalments, due at Christmas, he is to 
provide partly by any Balance which may be in his hands 
from the Account of the preceding year, — partly by an an- 
nual payment of at least One Thousand Pounds, to be made 
to him at Christmas, by our Book-Steward, in part of the 
Yearly Profits of the Book-Concern, and partly, by bor- 
rowing, for a time, any further sum which may be found 
necessary to complete such Instalments. 

N. B. The sum so borrowed for this Fund by the Trea- 
surer, shall be repaid by means of a further advance, of 
not less than Two Thousand Pounds, to be made to him by 
our Book-Steward, on or before the 1st day of May in 
every year. And for the purpose of securing to the Book- 
Steward the means of making these prompt advances of 
money, to aid the work of God in the poorer Circuits, the 
Conference has adopted the Rule which will be found at 
p. 101, and with which all the Superintendents are charged 
conscientiously and punctually to comply. 

(2.) The Second Instalments are to be provided, as before 
directed, in the 3d, 4th, 5th, and 6th Articles, out of the 
Yearly Collection, taken at the amount of the preceding 
year, and received at the District-Meetings in May. 

(3.) The Third and Final Instalments, together with all 
Grants for Extraordinary Deficiencies, are to be paid by the 
Treasurer at the Conference, partly by means of the surplus 
of Yearly Collection, still in his hands; partly by the July 
Collection ; and partly by the additional sum which he will 
then receive from the Book-Steward, as the remaining 
Profits of the Book-Concern for the year, according to the 
Estimate made at the preceding Conference. 

9. The Chairmen of Districts, and the Treasurer of the 
Contingent Fund, as far as it belongs to their departments 
respectively, are directed to take particular care, before any 
allowances out of that Fund are voted or paid to Deficient 
Circuits, that the full quotas of contribution, owing from 
such Circuits to the Children's Fund, for the current year, 
shall be duly secured, according to an Article of the 
Children's Fund, 1820,-1821. [See Children's Fund, No, 
III. 8.] 

K 



194 

II. THE CHAPEL FUND. 

I. Q. What is the result of the arrangements made last 
year, with a view to some improvement in our mode of re- 
lieving those Chapels which need more pecuniary assistance 
than can be obtained in the Circuits to which they locally 
belong ?* 

A. Meetings of the Committees appointed to consider 
this subject having been held in London and in Leeds, 
which were attended by various Preachers, and by many 
respectable Trustees, from different places, after much dis- 
cussion the Committee at Leeds submitted a Report con- 
taining their Resolutions to the Conference. 

The Conference having considered the Report of the 
Committee, resolves, 

1. That the Resolutions of the Committee, appointed to 
arrange a Plan for the Relief of Chapels which need assist- 
ance from the Connexion, be approved and adopted. 

2. That a General Chapel-Fund, to be supported by Private 
Subscriptions, by Public Collections, by Legacies, and by 
Annual Subscriptions from the Trust-Funds of Chapels, on 
the plan recommended by the said Committee, shall be im- 
mediately instituted. 

3. That the Preachers, in conjunction with a Deputation 
of such Trustees as are willing to concur in this Plan, shall 
make applications in their respective Circuits for Subscrip- 
tions, in aid of the said Fund, in the month of February 
next, and in the same month of every succeeding year ; at 
the close of which a Public Collection for the same object 

* It was customary for many years for the Conference to allow sub- 
scriptions and collections to be made through one or more Circuits, ac- 
cording to the urgency of the case, in order to assist the Trustees of any 
Chapel heavily burdened with debt. Several inconveniences, however, 
were found to* result from this plan. On the subject of collections for 
chapels, the Conference of 1808 referred to the consideration of the en- 
suing District-Meetings, the following proposal of the London District, 
on which they were directed to report their opinion the following year : viz. 
■ — " In order to promote the erection of new chapels, where they may be 
wanted, to assist those chapels which are overburdened with debt, and to 
relieve the Preachers from the disagreeable necessity of going to collect 
money from Circuit to Circuit, while their own proper work is unavoid- 
ably neglected : we unanimously recommend, that a Fund for Chapels 
shall be formed in each District, by monthly or quarterly subscriptions, 
to be received by the Preachers in their respective Circuits. This Fund 
should be under the entire management of the District Committees, who 
should direct, from year to year, the sum to be given in each case, and 
appoint a Treasurer to hold 'the surplus, as well as a Secretary to keep 
the accounts ; which accounts should be produced annually at the Con- 
ference." Owing to the pecuniary circumstances of several Districts, this 
Fund was not then established. 



THE CHAPEL FUND. 195 

shall be made, as has been usual, in all our Chapels, so as 
to afford to those who have not been individually solicited 
the opportunity of contributing to this good cause. 

4. That a Circular Letter, stating the objects and neces- 
sity of the General Chapel-Fund, be sent to the Trustees 
of every Chapel in the Connexion, in the month of Febru- 
ary, at latest ; and that they shall be respectfully and ear- 
nestly solicited to evince their readiness to concur in the 
measures thus adopted for the general relief of the Body of 
Trustees, and for the permanent prosperity of the Work of 
God among us, by paying to their respective Superinl en- 
dents some sum, not less than One Guinea for each Chapel, 
and more, if the circumstances of their several Trust- 
Estates will admit, to be applied to the assistance of those 
Chapels which most urgently need help from this Fund. 

5. That Thomas Marriott, Esq., and Mr. George Mars- 
den, both of London, shall be requested to act as Joint- 
Treasurers of the General Chapel-Fund for the ensuing 
year. 

6. That every Superintendent shallbe required punctually 
to remit to the General Treasurers all the monies which 
may be raised for the said Fund in his Circuit, whether 
privately or publicly, on or before the 15th day of March in 
every year. 

7. That the Committee of Distribution, for 1819, shall 
consist of Messrs. James Wood, Henry Moore, Charles 
Atmore, James Bogie, Walter Griffith, Jonathan Crowther, 
John Gaulter, George Highfield, Richard Reece, Joseph 
Entwisle, John Braithwaite, Thomas Ingham, Richard 
Treffry, Valentine Ward, and David Rogers, with the 
President and Secretary of the Conference, and the Joint- 
Treasurers of the General Chapel-Fund j and of Fifteen 
Trustees (not being Travelling Preachers), to be invited by 
the President, who shall select for this purpose such Trus- 
tees, chiefly, as reside in the Districts most contiguous to 
the place where the Conference is to be held. 

8. That the distribution of the monies raised for the 
Chapel Fund shall be left absolutely, for the first year, to 
the judgment of the said Committee, on the plan recom- 
mended in the above-mentioned Report ; and that they be 
requested, at their Meeting in Bristol, on the Saturday 
before the Meeting of the next Conference, to draw up 
Rules and Regulations for the Distributions of future years, 
to be submitted to the consideration of the Conference. 
1818. 

II. Q. What is the judgment of the Conference respect- 
ing the General Chapel Fund, established last year ? 

A. 1 . The Conference has received, with high and grateful 



196 THE CHAPEL FUND. 

satisfaction, the Report of the Committee of that Fund : 
and directs that their Account of its Receipts and Disburse- 
ments for the last year shall be published, and circulated 
among the Subscribers, the Body of Trustees, and the 
Preachers, together with a suitable Prefatory Address, which 
shall state the benefit which has resulted from this Fund, 
even in its present state of infancy, by the discharge of 
nearly the whole of the Annual Deficiencies of those Chapels 
whose Cases were brought in a regular way before the Com- 
mittee : and shall urge on the Trustees, and other Friends, 
the necessity of exertion for the further augmentation of 
this important Fund, in order that not only the future 
Annual Deficiencies of Distressed Chapels may be sup- 
plied, but some provision made, if possible, for gradually 
reducing, in special Cases, the principal of the Debts, for 
which the Trustees are responsible. 

2. On the recommendation of the Committee, the Con- 
ference resolves as follows : viz. 

(1.) That it shall be earnestly recommended to the Socie- 
ties connected with the Chapels, of which the Trust-Income 
falls short of meeting the Expenditure for Interest, &c, to 
devise some plan for cleaning the said Chapels, by their own 
gratuitous labour, or otherwise, which will relieve the Trus- 
tees from that article of expense. 

(2.) That it shall be earnestly recommended to the 
Preachers r.nd Trustees to adopt the practice of Anni- 
versary Sermons and Collections, in aid of those Chapels 
whose regular Income cannot otherwise be made equal to 
their Expenditure. 

(3.) That as the Grants from the General Chapel-Fund, 
on account of the multiplicity of cases which are likely to 
be brought before the Committee, must of necessity be so 
limited in their amount, as to render every proper local 
exertion as necessary as heretofore, it shall be earnestly 
recommended to all Trustees, who intend to apply for fu- 
ture relief from this Fund, that, in conjunction with the 
Preachers of the Circuit, they shall previously commence 
among themselves and their Friends, in their own neigh- 
bourhood, a Private Subscription for the reduction of their 
Chapel-Debt, wherever such an exertion has not been recently 
made. 

(4.) That it shall be considered as an imperative Rule, 
that no Chapel, built without the consent of the Annual 
Chapel-Building Committee, if erected subsequently to the 
first appointment of that Committee in the year 1817, shall 
ever, on any account, receive assistance from the General 
Chapel-Fund. 
(5.) That all cases of Chapels, intended to be brought 



THE CHAPEL FUND. 197 

before the Committee of this Fund, shall be first carefully- 
examined in the Annual District-Meetings, and approved 
by a majority of the Preachers and Circuit-Stewards there 
present. 

(6.) That all such Cases shall be presented to the Com- 
mittee in writing, so that all the particulars respecting 
their Debt, Income, Expenditure, &c, may be accurately 
known. 

N. B. The Annual Subscription to this Fund paid out of 
their Trust-Income, by the Trustees requesting relief, is to 
be separately and distinctly stated at the bottom of every 
case presented to the Committee. 

(7.) That the preparation of other standing Rules and 
Regulations for the Distribution of this Fund, which the 
Conference had delegated to the Committee of this year, 
be postponed for the present, in order to afford an oppor- 
tunity for those improvements which a further experience 
of the operation of the new Plan may probably suggest. 

3. The Private Subscriptions and Public Collections for 
the Chapel-Fund are to be made, in every Circuit, in the 
month of February, as usual. And the Trustees of every 
Chapel are at the same time to be respectfully solicited for 
an Annual Donation from their several Trust-Estates, in 
aid of their Brother-Trustees, who are connected with 
Chapels which depend materially for relief on this Fund. 
(See the 4th Article of the Plan of the General Chapel-Fund, 
p. 194, No. I.) The Preachers shall request the kind co- 
operation and assistance of the Trustees in making the 
applications, in their respective Circuits, for Private Sub- 
scriptions. 

N. B. Every Superintendent is required to remit all the 
monies which may be raised for this Fund in his Circuit, 
whether privately or publicly, to the Treasurers, on or before 
the 15th day of March. 1819. 

III. On the Report of the Committee, and according to 
their recommendation, the Conference resolves, that, in 
order to preserve and augment this Fund, and render it 
ultimately available to the purposes for which it was de- 
signed, the following Regulations shall be adopted, in ad- 
dition to the Resolutions of the two last years. 

1. Schedules shall be annually forwarded to every Cir- 
cuit, for the use of those Trustees who may think it neces- 
sary to apply for help to the Chapel-Fund, in which they 
shall enter the Original Cost of the Chapel, the present 
Debt, and the reasons of any Increase which may have 
taken place in the Debt, since the first erection, or during 
the past year ; and also, on one side of the Annual Ac- 
count, the Income from Seat Rents, from any Sunday 



198 THE CHAPEL FUND. 

School, Ground, Houses, or other Trust-Premises, from 
private Subscriptions for the Trust Concerns, and from the 
Anniversary Collections ; and on the other side of the said 
Account, the Expenditure, during the year, for Simple In- 
terest of Money borrowed, for Annuities (if any exist), for 
Ground-Rent, for Insurance, and for Taxes on the Trust- 
Property, and no other item whatsoever. No application for 
Annual Deficiencies shall ever be considered by the Com- 
mittee of Distribution, but for the difference between the 
Income and Expenditure, as apparent on the Schedules 
thus filled up. Other local expenses, as for lighting, re- 
pairs, &c. must be met by local exertions in the way of 
Quarterly Collection, or Extra-Subscription. And, in 
many cases, the recommendation of the last Conference should 
be enforced, respecting the cleaning of embarrassed Chapels 
by the gratuitous labours of the Society, or otherwise, so 
as to relieve the Trustees from that article of expense. 

2. No application shall be admitted by the District- 
Meetings for any Chapel, or forwarded by them for the 
consideration of the Committee of Distribution, unless the 
Trustees have adopted the practice of regular Anniversary 
Sermons and Collections in aid of their Funds, nor until 
they have engaged to send a regular Annual Subscription 
to the ' Fund, from their Trust-Estate, of at least One 
Guinea, and actually paid to the Treasurers their Subscrip- 
tion for the current year. 

3. Any additional Statement which the Trustees of any 
Chapel may deem it necessary, in particular cases, to lay 
before the Committee of Distribution, shall be presented to 
them in writing, or through the medium of some Member of 
the Committee, and in no other way. 

4. The Trustees of Chapels through the Connexion shall 
be again respectfully requested by the Superintendents to 
subscribe annually some sum, from their Trust-Funds, in 
aid of distressed Chapels ; and also, to appoint a few of 
their number annually to assist the Preachers of their re- 
spective Circuits, in applying for private Subscriptions in 
aid of this important Fund. 1820. 

IV. Q. What further Regulations does the Conference 
adopt respecting the General Chapel-Fund ? 

A. 1. A Book shall be provided, in which shall be re- 
gularly entered the Schedules, containing a statement of 
the case of each Chapel on whose behalf relief is requested, 
which Book shall be brought to all the meetings of the 
Committee for the purpose of reference. _ 

2. In the case of any Trustees making a larger claim 
than that of the preceding year, they shall enter in their 
Schedule the reason of such additional claim, whether 



THE CHAPEL FUND. 199 

arising from an increase of debt, or a deficiency of income. 

3. The District-Meetings shall inquire into the Rates for 
which the Seats are let, and shall be satisfied that such rates 
are fair and equitable, before they recommend any case to 
the consideration of the Committee. They shall also further 
inquire, whether the Seat-Rents are regularly collected, or 
are suffered to run into arrears. 

4. No relief shall in future be granted to any Chapel, 
whose Annual deficiency, calculated according to our Rule 
on that subject, shall be less than Three Pounds, if in 
England, or Two Pounds, if in Wales. 

5. The following additional Queries shall be inserted in 
the Schedules to be filled up by the Trustees : — 

(I.) Is the Chapel so settled as to be secured to the Con- 
nexion according to the Regulations of the Conference ? 

(2.) If the Chapel has been built, purchased, or enlarged, 
since the year 1818, was the consent of the Building-Com- 
mittee obtained ? 

(3.) What is the number of Members in Society ? 

N. B. The Conference strongly disapproves*of the conduct 
of the Trustees of the Chapels at Romsey and Ashton-under- 
Lyne, who have taken an undue advantage of the kind 
feelings of our friends in different places, by making irre- 
gular and unauthorised applications to them for pecuniary 
assistance, instead of applying, like other Trustees of em- 
barrassed Chapels, to the Committee of the Chapel-Fund, 
on which they had the same claim as others, for such help 
as that Fund can afford. And as it has been reported to the 
Conference, from various Circuits, that such practices tend 
to diminish the income of the Chapel-Fund, and thereby to 
injure the just claims of those Trustees who act legally 
and conscientiously, the Conference earnestly advises our 
friends to refuse in future all aid to persons who beg for 
Chapels without any regular authority from the Confer- 
ence. 1821. 

V. Q. What further Regulations does the Conference 
adopt respecting the General Chapel-Fund} 

A. 1 . Every Chapel for which Contributions have been 
irregularly solicited beyond the boundaries of the Circuit 
to which such Chapel belongs, and without the sanction of 
the Conference, shall be excluded from receiving any help 
from this Fund. 

N. B. This Resolution is adopted, at the recommendation 
of the Chapel-Committee, as necessary to prevent an undue 
advantage being taken by any Trustees, who may act con- 
trary to Rule, and to the general interests of the Connexion, 
over others who laudably conform to the existing Regula- 
tions. 

2. The General Treasurers shall inform the Chairmen of 



200 THE CHAPEL FUND. 

any Circuits in their Districts, who may neglect to send 
their Subscriptions and Collections at the proper time ; in 
order that the Superintendents of those Circuits may be 
admonished, by their Chairmen, for their want of punc- 
tuality, and reported to the Conference. 

3. All money remitted from the country to the Treasurers 
shall be sent either in Cash, or Bankers' Bills, or Country 
Notes payable in London. 

N. B. An order on a Banker in London, when it can be 
given without expense, is preferable. 

4. No new Cases shall be admitted, unless the Deeds be 
produced at the District-Meetings, in order to ascertain 
that the Chapels are properly secured to the Connexion. 

5. An annual Collection shall be made in all our Chapels, 
in aid of the General Fund ; and no commutation, by giving 
money from other sources instead of a Collection, shall be 
allowed in any case applying for relief. 

6. It is recommended to the Trustees to be careful how 
they take up money on Annuities ; as, in the consideration 
of Cases, the Committee can only have reference to the 
common Interest on the sums so borrowed. 1822. 

VI. Q. What further Regulations does the Conference 
adopt respecting the General Chapel-Fund? 

A. 1. With a view more effectually to realize the great 
object contemplated in the establishment of this Fund, viz. 
the reduction of Chapel-debts, it is resolved, (on the recom- 
mendation of the Preachers and Trustees who compose the 
Chapel-Fund Committee for this year,) (1.) That in future, 
after a rigorous examination of all the cases proposed to 
the Committee for relief, the sum of Three Thousand 
Pounds only shall be allowed for Annual Deficiencies. (2.) 
That all the money collected above that sum, to the amount 
of One Thousand Pounds, shall be appropriated to the re- 
duction of Principal: the most distressed Chapels having 
the first claim ; but subject to such terms and conditions as 
the Committee may deem most advisable. (3.) That when 
the Annual Collections and Subscriptions for this Fund 
shall amount to considerably more than Four Thousand 
Pounds, that surplus shall be employed in Grants to aid the 
building of New Chapels, in the most promising places, in 
different parts of the Kingdom, under such regulations as 
the General Committee shall deem reasonable and practi- 
cable. 

2. The Treasurers and Secretary are directed to address 
a Circular Letter to every Superintendent, expressive of the 
deep regret with which the conference has learned that so 
many Circuits have been very deficient in their contribu- 
tions to this Fund, and requiring that greater exertions be 
used, in order that something may be contributed by every 



THE CHAPEL FUND. 201 

Circuit in the way of Private Subscriptions, in addition to 
the Public Collections. 

3. The Preachers shall request some of the Trustees, in 
their respective Circuits, to accompany them in their appli- 
cation for Subscriptions and Donations ; and shall make 
proper arrangements for that purpose at the December 
Quarterly-Meetings. 1823. 

VII. Q. What are the Resolutions of the Conference on 
receiving the Report of the Chapel-Fund Committee r 

A. 1. In order to expedite the business of that Com- 
mittee in future years, it is ordered that instead of District- 
Schedules, all the C«"m«Y-Schedules* of Chapels for which 
assistance is requested shall be forwarded by the Chairman 
of every District to the General Treasurers in London, by 
the first day of July. 

2. The amount of Subscriptions and Collections received 
for this Fund in each Circuit shall be reported by the 
Superintendent at every Annual District-Meeting ; and 
where any declension or gross deficiency shall appear, the 
Chairman shall make strict inquiry into the cause. 

3. With a view to prevent unnecessary claims on the 
Fund, a minute and careful examination of those Cases, 
whose annual deficiency, estimated according to the exist- 
ing Regulations, does not amount to Five Pounds, shall be 
made in all the District-Meetings, and a distinct report 
shall be made concerning them to the Committee at their 
next Meeting. 1824. 

VIII. Q. What is the judgment of the Conference on 
the Report and Recommendation of the Chapel Fund Com- 
mittee ? 

A. They are unanimously approved : and it is therefore 
directed, — 

1. That Duplicates of the Schedules of all Chapels which 
have received assistance shall be annually sent to the 
Chairmen of the Districts, in order to assist them in their 
inquiries into cases for which relief is requested ; and that 
those Duplicates shall be preserved from year to year in 
every District, in a Book prepared for the purpose, so as to 
afford the means of convenient reference. 

* The following is a Copy of a Circuit Schedule, issued Feb. 20, 1827. 

Deaji Brother, 

If there he any distressed Chapel in your Circuit, for which 
relief will he requested at the ensuing Conference, you will please to have 
the Statement given correctly, according to the annexed Schedule, which 
the Chairman of the District is to lay before the Committee of Distribu- 
tion. If there are more than one, you can give a Copy of the Schedule 
to the Trustees for them to fill up. You will recollect that each Case 
sent to the Conference must pass through the District-Meeting, and have 
K 2 



202 



THE CHAPEL FUND. 



2. That a note shall be appended to the Schedules, 
requiring every Superintendent to examine the Trustee- 
Books, and to sign each Schedule, as vouching for its 
correctness, before he bring any Case to the District-Meet- 
ing. 1825. 

IX. On the Report and Recommendation of the Chapel 
Fund Committee, it is further directed, — 

1. That the Rule made 1824 [see No. VII. 2. J be con- 
firmed, which requires the Chairman to make strict inquiry, 
in every Annual District-Meeting, what has been the 
amount of Subscriptions and Collections for this Fund in 
each Circuit. 

2. The Superintendents of Circuits, and Chairmen of 
Districts, are required, before they sanction any application 

their sanction. You will request the Trustees who may apply for assist- 
ance to be very exact in giving in their Statements. 
We are, dear Brother, 

Tour's affectionately, 

Thomas Marriott, 
Samuel Warren, 



Treasurers. 



Statement of Chapel, in the Circuit. 

Built A. D. 18 . Original Cost, £ Present Debt, £ 

If the Debt have increased, specify the reasons of such increase. Ans. 

Is the Chapel so settled as to be secured to the Connexion? Ans. 

At what Rate3 are the sittings let per Quarter ? Acs. From 
to 

If the Chapel has been built, purchased, or enlarged, since the year 
1818, was the consent of the Building Committee obtained? Ans. 

W hat is the number of Members connected with this Chapel ? Ans. 



INCOME. 

Annual amount of Seat 
Rents 

Rent of Land, Houses, or 
other Premises connected 
with the Trust . . . 

Rent of Sunday School, or 
any other School . . . 

Anniversary Collection . . 

Private Subscriptions raised 
for the Trust Concerns 
during the Year . . . 

Any other income not in 
eluded in the foregoing 
items 

Deficiency 



>■. J. 



EXPENDITURE. 

Annual Interest on Money 
borrowed 

Ditto on Annuity (state the 
rate and amount) . . . 

Ground-Rent 

Insurance 

For annual Rates and 
Taxes 



£ s. d. 



Signed, Treasurer. 

I have examined the Books of the Trustees of this Chapel, and find 
the Account correct. 

Signed, Superintendent. 



THE CHAPEL FUND. 203 

for the relief of distressed Chapels, to inquire whether the 
said Chapels, or any part of the Trust-Premises, be occupied 
as a Sunday School, and if so, whether a fair and reasonable 
rent be paid to the Trustees in consideration of such occu- 
pation. 1826. 

X. The Conference directs, that, — 

1. The Superintendents of Circuits, and Chairmen of 
Districts, be strictly required, before they sanction any ap- 
plication for the relief of a distressed chapel, to inquire 
whether the said chapel, or any part of the Trust-Premises, 
be occupied as a Sunday School ; and if so, whether a fair 
and reasonable rent be paid to the Trustees in consideration 
of such occupation ; and also to inquire into the amount of 
the Collections made at the Anniversaries of those chapels 
in behalf of which assistance is requested from the Chapel 
Fund. And no application shall be received, if it appear 
that the amount of such rent or Anniversary-Collections 
falls short of what might be reasonably expected. 

2. In every Annual District-Meeting, the Chairman is 
directed to inquire^what chapels have been erected in his 
District in the course of the year ; and whether the con- 
ditions stipulated by the Chapel-Building Committee have 
been observed ; and he shall report the answer in the Dis- 
trict-Minutes. 1828. 

XI. The Conference directs, — 

1. That a circular letter be also sent to the Trustees of 
those chapels to which Annual Grants, to meet deficiency of 
interest, continue to be made, informing them, that, in con- 
sequence of the regulations this year adopted, respecting 
a regular appropriation of a larger portion of the produce 
of the Fund towards the immediate reduction of debts, it 
will not be in the power of the Committee to allow in fu- 
ture, upon an average, more than two-thirds, at the most, 
of the Annual Grants voted this year ; and expressing a 
hope that such Trustees, by additional local exertions, will 
prepare to meet this deficiency, so as not to suffer their 
chapel-debts to be augmented. 

2. That a Local Treasurer of the Chapel Fund, not being 
a Travelling Preacher, and a Chapel Fund Committee, con- 
sisting of the Travelling Preachers, Circuit-Stewards, and 
Trustee-Stewards, with power to add to their number, shall 
be annually appointed in every Circuit, at the December 
Quarterly Meeting ; and that their cordial co-operation in 
carrying the above regulations into effect, in their respec- 
tive Circuits, and in increasing the income of this impor- 
tant Fund, be respectfully requested. 1829. 

XII. The Conference directs, — 

1 . That no loans of money be raised by the Trustees of 



204 THE CHAPEL FUND. 

any of our chapels on mortgage of their trust-premises, 
unless the sum borrowed be equal to the entire debt re- 
maining thereupon. 

2. That in all cases of Grants towards the reduction of 
the debts on embarrassed chapels, the Treasurer shall him- 
self see that securities to the whole amount of the sum 
liquidated are destroyed ; and also, that copies of them be 
first taken, which shall be preserved and registered. 

3. That it be strongly recommended, that no application 
for help be made from the Trustees of any embarrassed 
chapel, in a town where other Trusts are in such circum- 
stances as to be able to afford assistance ; and that the Dis- 
trict-Meetings be directed to use the utmost precaution in 
sanctioning any such application. 1830. 

XIII. Q. What Resolutions does the Conference adopt 
on the recommendation of the Chapel Fund Committee ? 

A. Various plans for affording speedy relief to the Trus- 
tees of embarrassed chapels having been laid before the 
said Committee, the following Resolutions were unani- 
mously adopted by them, and strongly recommended to the 
sanction of the Conference. 

1. That this meeting contemplates with gratitude and 
pleasure the beneficial operation of the Chapel Fund, insti- 
tuted in the year 1818, by which 40,000^. have been dis- 
tributed in 2,809 Annual Grants, among the Trustees of 
embarrassed chapels, towards deficiencies of interest j and 
nearly 20,000Z. appropriated as Final Grants, to meet up- 
wards of 3 1,000Z. raised by the Trustees and their friends ; 
debts to the amount of 51,000Z. being thereby extinguished: 
and that it observes, with approbation, the salutary restric- 
tions of the Chapel-Building Committee, in consequence of 
which very few chapels, erected since its establishment, 
have been involved in difficulties, and even those few 
chiefly through unavoidable contingencies. It also recom- 
mends that increasing vigilance and caution be used to 
prevent any future imprudent erections ; and that, the 
more effectually to secure this object, the sanction of either 
the Financial District Meeting in September, or of the Annual 
District Meeting in May, shall, in all cases, be first obtained ; 
and the occasional substitution of the sanction of three Su- 
perintendents be henceforth discontinued. 

2. That, notwithstanding the extensive relief already 
afforded, the pressure of debt and difficulty upon many 
excellent Trustees has become so distressing as to require 
further, prompt, and effectual help ; and that, as the expe- 
rience of every succeeding year furnishes additional proof 
that this can only be given by the reduction of the principal 
of their trust debts, it is deemed highly expedient to carry 



THE CHAPEL FUND. 205 

into very extended effect the plan of the Chapel Loan Fund, 
which has proved so eminently successful ; and that, there- 
fore, the sum of 40,000/., or upwards, if necessary, be 
forthwith raised by loan. 

3. That extensive application be made to such Trustees 
as may have the ability and inclination to co-operate in the 
execution of this plan, to furnish loans of, at least, one hun- 
dred pounds for each of their chapels ; in the hope that, by 
this means, a sufficient sum will be obtained ; which shall 
be repaid by yearly instalments of ten per cent., with inte- 
rest, at the rate of four per cent., per annum, from the 
Chapel Fund. 

4. That, judging from the proportions raised by Trus- 
tees, to meet former final grants, as stated in the first Reso- 
lution, it is confidently hoped that a similar, or even a still 
more favourable ratio, will, on an average, be raised by the 
Trustees whose circumstances may compel them to solicit 
such help ; and that the further sum of 60,000/. will thus 
be furnished, to meet the 40,000/. proposed to be borrowed ; 
and those Trustees are hereby urgently requested to prepare 
their proposals for relief, and to present them, as they will 
be afterwards directed by letter, at their earliest subsequent 
convenience. 1832. 

XIV. 1. The Conference confirms the Minute made in 
1830, viz., " That no loans of money should be raised by 
the Trustees of any of our chapels on mortgage of their 
trust premises, unless the sum borrowed be equal to the en- 
tire debt remaining thereupon ;" and further most earnestly 
advises, that no such loan on mortgage shall be taken up at 
all, except in extreme cases ; nor then, without consulting 
with the Chapel Loan Fund Committee. 

2. In addition to the questions already contained in the 
Chapel Schedules, the following shall be inserted ; viz., 
" Is there a mortgage on the chapel ?" and, " To whom, 
and to what amount, is the mortgage made ?" 1834. 






206 

III. THE SCHOOL FUND. 

I. Q. What is allowed for the education of the Daughters 
of the Preachers ? 

A. No Daughter shall receive any thing from the School 
Fund till she is nine years old. She shall then have eight 
Guineas a year for four years. 1 796. 

[Daughters now receive Eight Guineas a year, from eight 
years of age, till they are fourteen.] 

II. Q. As some Boys are prevented from going to School, 
when nearly eight years old, on account of our Rules which, 
relate to the School : what can be done for the relief of 
such Children, consistently with the Rules ? 

A. Let such Children have One Pound per month, from 
the time they are eight years old, till they are taken into 
the School ; but they are, notwithstanding, to leave the 
School at fourteen years of age, as the other Scholars. 
1799- 

dCf 3 " Every Boy, when he leaves the School, has two new 
suits of clothes, six new shirts, six new pairs of stockings, 
two pairs of shoes, two hats, pocket-handkerchiefs, &c. 

III. Q. Can any step be taken in aid of the General Fund 
for the support of Kingswood School, and the education of 
the Preachers' Children ? 

A. Let the Preachers, in making the Annual Collection, 
state to the Congregations the great increase of the Chil- 
dren, both Sons and Daughters, that are dependent upon 
it for their education, as well as the high price of most ar- 
ticles of provision. 1805. 

IV. If any Boy shall discover an extraordinary genius, 
he shall be allowed to continue at the School longer than 
the usual period, provided that his Parents shall pay annu- 
ally such a sum towards the expense of his board and cloth- 
ing as the Committee may deem proper. 1808. 

V. What directions are necessary respecting our School 
at Kingswood and Woodhouse-Grove ?* 

* In 1811, owing to the increase of the Connexion, " the Conference 
deemed it expedient to provide, -without delay, an additional School for 
the education of those Sons of Preachers who could not he admitted at 
Kingswood, or whose fathers might prefer anuther situation to that of 
Kingswood," and directed the President to purchase, on behalf of the 
Conference, the house and estate of Woodhouse Grove, near Leeds." 
The purchase was afterwards made for the sum of 4,5751., and the altera- 
tions and furnishing cost about 1,500Z. more. The Conference resolved 
" that the premises should be designated, in honour of their venerable 
father in the gospel, the Wesley an Academy at Woodhouse Grove." It 
appears that the establishment of a School in Yorkshire was contemplated 
so far bach as 1781. At the Conference on that year it was asked, " Q. 
Can we erect a School for Preachers' Children in Yorkshire? — A. Pro- 



THE SCHOOL FUND. 



207 



A. 1. The Annual Public Collection shall be made as 
usual in the month of October ; but, previously to that 
Collection, the Preachers shall apply in private to such of 
our Members and Friends, as are likely to become Annual 
Subscribers, and the names of such Subscribers shall be 
published. 

2. If any Boy be removed from one School to the other, 
he shall bring a written Character from the Governor of 
the School which he leaves. 1813. 

VJ. The Plan of Classical Education, originally drawn 
up by Mr. Wesley, for the use of Kingswood School, 
shall be forthwith revived and adopted in that School. 
1814. 

VII. Q. Can any amendment be made in the existing 
Rule concerning Letters sent to our Public Schools ? 

A. In future, the Preachers who write to the Governors, 
or to the Boys, shall either send their Letters post paid, or 
refund the amount of the Postage to the Governors at the 
ensuing Conference. 1815. 

VIII. Q. Are any Regulations necessary respecting our 
Schools at Kingswood and Woodhouse-Grove ? 

A. 1. Let it be understood, that the most suitable time 
for boys to enter at either School, is the last week in the 
month of Mays that is, immediately after the annual 
vacation. 

2. The preference, in selecting Boys to fill up vacancies 
in the Schools, shall always be given according to the 
seniority of the Fathers of those Boys, who are candidates 
for admission, in our itinerant work ; except when a 
Parent, though senior, has one Boy already in either 
School. 

3. Let the Rule which enacts, that no Boy shall be ad- 
mitted to either of the Schools, until his Father shall have 
subscribed Five Guineas at least towards the purchase of 
Woodhouse-Grove, be uniformly and constantly enforced. 

4. A regular Annual Report of the Schools, with a List 
of the Subscribers, and of Public Collections, and an 
account of the Expenditure, shall be published in a sepa- 
rate form ; and a Copy given to each Subscriber of Ten 
Shillings and upwards. The Account printed in the Ap- 
pendix to our Minutes shall therefore include, in future, 
only the Public Collections, and the total amount of Private 
Subscriptions in each Circuit, together with an Account of 
the Expenditure. 1816. 

bably we may ; let our brethren think of a place and a master, and send 
me (i. e. Mr. Wesley,) word." A committee for this purpose was ap 
pointed by the Conference in 1808. 



208 THE SCHOOL FUND. 

IX. Let it be well understood, that all Parents, who 
send their Sons to either . School, must pay the whole of 
their travelling expenses thither. IS 17. 

X. Q. What further directions shall be given con- 
cerning the Regulation and Pecuniary support of our 
Schools at Kingswood and Woodhouse-Grove ? 

A. 1. The enlargement of the School Libraries being 
deemed desirable, the Book Steward is directed to transmit 
for the Library of each School a Copy of every Book pub- 
lished in future at our Book- Room, on our own account ; 
and our Preachers, who publish any Work, are also re- 
quested to present a Copy of it for each Library ; such 
presentation being subject, however, to the opinion of the 
Local Committees, as to their suitableness for the use of 
the Scholars. 

2. It is agreed, that, in future, all Parents who write to 
their Children at the Schools shall be required to send all 
their letters post-paid. 

3. The annual vacation of both Schools shall commence 
in future with the second week in the month of May. 

4. Considering that a regular and permanent income is 
of essential importance to these Institutions, and that, 
owing to the great additional expenditure occasioned by 
the increase in the number of Preachers employed in the 
Circuits, the Fund, by which the Schools are supported 
(and out of which the usual allowances for the Education 
of Preacher's Daughters, and of such Sons of Preachers as 
do not go to the Schools, are likewise paid,) is now in an 
exhausted and embarrassed state, the Conference perempto- 
rily requires the Preachers in every Circuit to make respect- 
ful and earnest application to our liberal friends for Private 
Subscriptions, in the month of October, of every year, ac- 
cording to our existing Rule, and also to exert themselves 
in endeavouring to augment the amount of the Public 
Collections, to be made, in the same month, in all our 
Congregations. 18 IS. 

XI. In order to facilitate the regular transaction of the 
business belonging to the School Fund, and the annual 
settlement of its accounts, it is resolved : — 

1. That all monies received for this Fund shall be re- 
mitted to the General Treasurer, and to no other person. 
The Preachers are required uniformly to attend to this. 

2. Any small fractional sums, (under One Pound,) 
which it may not be convenient in all cases to remit by 
post, at the time when the other monies collected in the 
Circuits are sent, may be reserved till the next Conference, 
and then paid as Balances to the General Treasurer : but 
notice of such Balance reserved shall be given, when the 



THE SCHOOL FUND. 209 

Collections at large are sent; together with Alphabetical 
Lists of all Subscribers of Ten Shillings and upwards, and 
a distinct statement of all that has been raised in each 
Circuit for the School Fund. 

3. The General Treasurer alone shall have authority to 
make any payments which may be necessary, during the 
course of the year, whether to the Local Treasurers of the 
Schools, or to any other person, on account of the several 
objects for which this Fund is established ; — he shall 
annually settle his account with the Local Treasurers, 
immediately after June 24th ; — and he will be expected to 
produce the whole accounts of his Department for the past 
year, to the General Committee for School affairs, ap- 
pointed annually for the purpose of examining those ac- 
counts, and of reporting thereon to the Conference. 

4. The sum of Six Hundred Pounds, expended (and 
charged in the printed accounts of 1818,) in the Erection 
and Furniture of the new buildings at Kingswood, shall 
for the present be borrowed, according to the Resolution of 
last Conference, on legal Interest, and considered as part 
of the standing debt of the School, for which the Trustees 
are to give security, until the Fund shall be in circum- 
stances which will admit of its repayment, without embar- 
rassing us in our ordinary annual expenditure. 1819. 

XII. Although the Conference has resolved no longer 
to pay regularly in advance the usual allowances to the 
Children, who have claims on the School Fund, it is never- 
theless agreed, that for the present year, the sums, which 
according to this resolution would become due to any 
Preacher at the Conference in 1821, for his Daughters, or 
for his Sons not at either of the Schools, may be received 
by him out of the Collections or Subscriptions, to be made 
in his own Circuit in the month of October next, if suffi- 
cient for that purpose. But it is directed, that the Super- 
intendents shall be very careful to be clear and correct in 
stating to the General Treasurer, when they make their 
remittances, what was the total amount of their receipts 
from Collections or Subscriptions of Friends, and also from 
Preachers' Contributions; and they are. particularly to 
state, how much they have paid out of that sum for the 
School Allowances, from the School Fund, to Preachers' 
Sons and Daughters, with the names of the Children for 
whom any such sums have been paid, and the exact num- 
ber of years during which such allowance has been paid to 
such Child. 1820. 

XIII. Q. What further Regulations are necessary in 
reference to our Schools ? 

A. 1. The Rule of last year, [See No. XII.] authoriz- 



210 THE SCHOOL FUND. 

ing the Preachers who will have claims, due at the next 
Conference, to the usual Allowances for Education on Ac- 
count of their Daughters, or of their Sons, not at our 
Schools, to receive the same in advance, out of the Col- 
lections and Subscriptions which will be made in their own 
Circuits for this Fund in the month of October, is to be 
regarded as a permanent Regulation. A Schedule is to be 
sent by the General Treasurer to every Circuit, in which 
the Superintendent is distinctly to enter, according to the 
directions given in the said Rule, all his Receipts and Pay- 
ments of every kind on account of this Fund, and such 
other particulars as are therein required. 

2. The Committees of our Schools are directed, from 
year to - year, to appoint Auditors, resident in the neigh- 
bouring Circuits, to examine their respective accounts, 
preparatory to their being laid before the Conference. 1821. 

XIV. In future, the same person shall not be appointed 
to the office of Governor of the Kingswood or Woodhouse- 
Grove School, for more than six successive years. 1822. 

XV. Q. What further measure can be adopted, in order 
to render the Fund for the support of the Schools, and 
for the Education of the Preachers' Children in general, 
more adequate to the great additional expenditure, which 
has been occasioned by the enlargement of the Connexion, 
and the increase of the number of Preachers r 

A. Let there be a suitable interchange of Preachers, in 
all the Circuits in which it shall be found practicable, at 
the time when the Public Collections are made. 1824. 

XVI. Q. As the Fund for the support of the Schools, 
and for the Education of the Preachers' Children in general, 
is still inadequate to the great additional expenditure which 
has resulted from the enlargement of the Connexion, and 
the increase of the number of Preachers, — what Plan can 
we adopt to meet the deficiency ? 

A. 1. The sum to be claimed from the Mission Fund, 
towards the maintenance, clothing, and education of every 
Boy, at our Schools, who is the Son of a Preacher, actually 
employed in our Foreign Missions, or of a deceased Mis- 
sionary, shall in future be Twenty-Five Pounds per annum. 
And the Missionaries themselves shall be required to pay 
the Annual Subscription of Four Guineas, for each of their 
Boys, at the Schools, in common with the Preachers sta- 
tioned in this country. 

2. The General Treasurers shall immediately address a 
Circular Letter to the Quarterly Meetings of all those 
Circuits which have lately applied for, and received addi- 
tional Preachers ; reminding them of the unavoidable in- 
crease of expenditure, which is eventually entailed on the 



THE SCHOOL FUND. 211 

School Fund, as well as on the other General Funds of the 
Connexion, by every increase in the number of Preachers ; 
and urging upon them the necessity and duty of making 
proper exertions to augment, in their several Circuits, in a 
proportion corresponding to the augmentation of claims, 
the Subscriptions and Collections for that Fund. 1825 

XVII. Further Regulations to meet the great deficiency 
of the School Fund. 

1. Every Preacher who has a Son at the Schools, shall 
subscribe Two Guineas per annum towards the support of 
the Schools;— every Preacher who receives the allowance 
of Twelve Pounds for the education of a son at home, shall 
subscribe One Guinea per annum for the like purpose; — 
and every other Travelling Preacher shall be required to 
subscribe, at least, Half-a-Guinea per annum, in aid of 
the School Fund. 

2. In conformity to the liberal and judicious recommen- 
dations of the Circuit Stewards, in several respectable 
Districts, it is agreed, that the usual Allowance of Six 
Guineas per annum, heretofore made from the Children's 
Fund for those Sons of Preachers who are educated at 
home, shall henceforth be made also, out of the same Fund, 
for those Boys who are educated at the Schools ; — the gross 
amount of such last mentioned Allowances being considered 
as due on the 24th June, annually, from the General Trea- 
surers of the Children's Fund to the General Treasurers of 
the School Fund. 

3. At every District-Meeting, in the month of May, on 
the day in which the Circuit Stewards are in attendance, 
during the transaction of the financial business of the Dis- 
trict, the Chairman is directed to inquire particularly into 
the amount of the Subscriptions and Collections raised for 
the School Fund in each Circuit, and to compare them with 
the lists of the preceding year. Where any material defi- 
ciency, or want of due exertion, shall appear, the case 
shall be specially reported in the District-Minutes, and 
brought by the Chairman before the ensuing Conference. 

N. B. 1. The Private Subscriptions and Public Col- 
lections for the Schools, &c, are to be made, as usual, in 
the month of October. All money belonging to this Fund, 
is to be remitted to the General Treasurers, and to no other 
persons. — And it is expressly required, that the Collections, 
&c, received in October, shall be transmitted to the Ge- 
neral Treasurers not later than the 15th of November. 

2. The Treasurers' Accounts will be closed on the 24th 
of June, that they may bring with them to the Conference, 
a complete Report of the state of the Fund ; in order to 
which every Superintendent is required to transmit to the 



212 THE SCHOOL FUND. 

Treasurers a correct List of his Subscriptions and Collec- 
tions, on or before the 20th of June. — Each Chairman 
shall extract from his District-Minutes every thing which 
relates to the School Fund, which extract he shall send to 
the Treasurers prior to the above-mentioned day. — And, 
further, every Superintendent shall pay to the Chairman of 
his District, at the time of the Annual District-Meeting-, 
at latest, all additional Subscriptions or Collections which 
he may have received after the 15th of November. 182G. 

XVIII. Q. What are the Resolutions of the Conference 
respecting the affairs of our Schools. 

A. 1. In order to meet the annual defiiciency of the 
Fund, we agree, that if any Preacher have children born 
after the time when he became a Supernumerary, such 
children shall have no claim for education upon the School 
Fund j but in any necessitous case, application for assis- 
tance may be made to the Auxiliary Fund.. 

2. The Governors of the Schools are directed to enforce 
the payment of the usual subscription towards the purchase 
of the Woodhouse- Grove School, upon every Preacher 
whose son shall be admitted into either of the Schools. 1 829. 

XIX. To prevent perplexity and embarrassment in the 
Treasurers' accounts, it is resolved, That when any boy is 
sent to either of the Schools during the year, his father 
shall settle the amount of Allowance to be returned to the 
Fund, with the Governor ; and when any boy is removed 
from School during the year, the Governor shall in like 
manner settle the claim for allowance with his father. 1831. 

XX. If any Preacher shall remove a Son from either of 
the Schools during the year on account of sickness, the 
claim which he may advance upon the Fund, in conse- 
quence of such a removal, shall be examined by the Local 
Committee of the School, and reported to the General 
Committee at the Conference ; and the sum which it may 
be thought proper to allow shall be recommended to the 
Conference by that Committee. 1832. 

XXI. The sums allowed to Preachers for the Education 
of their Daughters, and such of their Sons as cannot ob- 
tain admission into the Schools, may be paid out of the 
Collections and Subscriptions made in their respective 
Circuits, in October, in behalf of the School Fund, if suffi- 
cient for that purpose : but in all such cases the Superin- 
tendent is required to send to the General Treasurers, not 
later than the 15th of November, a particular account of 
the sums contributed in his Circuit to the Fund, and the 
claims made upon it ; and to state distinctly the names of 
the Children for whose Education the usual Allowance has 
been paid, and the exact number of years during which the 



THE SCHOOL FUND. 213 

Allowance has been received. Any balance due to the 
Fund shall be remitted to the Treasurers at the same time. 
We repeat our Rule, made in 1820, that the Allowances 
for Education do not become due until the next Con- 
ference, and are not to be paid in advance, except so far 
as the Collections and Subscriptions to the Fund in a 
Circuit will meet the claims of that Circuit. But when the 
Governors of the Schools have been fully enabled to meet 
their current expenditure, if a surplus remains in the 
hands of the Treasurers, they may make such remittances 
to Circuits where the claims are large and the contributions 
very small, as may meet their convenience. 1833. 



214 

IV. THE CHILDREN'S FUND. 

I. Q What Regulations shall be made in respect to 
those Preachers, who marry Widows that have Children by- 
former Husbands ? 

A. Such Preachers shall have no assistance either from 
the public Funds, or from the Circuits in which they la- 
bour, for the Children which their Wives have had by for- 
mer Husbands. 1798. 

II. Q. What is the result of the inquiries which were 
made, by order of the last Conference, of the Preachers 
and Stewards assembled in the late District-Meetings 
throughout the kingdom, concerning the Plan, often re- 
commended by several respectable Friends, for stationing 
the Preachers' Children on the Circuits (as it respects the 
payment of their usual allowance), in a fair and equitable 
manner, according to the numbers and other circumstances 
of the Societies ? 

A. It appears from the Minutes of the District-Meetings, 
now read, that the principle and outline of that Plan are 
very generally approved. The Conference, therefore, re- 
solves as follows : viz. — 

1. That every District shall be considered to be respon- 
sible for providing within itself, and by its own local re- 
sources, the usual quarterly allowances for such a number 
of Preachers' Children, as shall be found, on annual ex- 
amination and calculation, to be fairly chargeable on the 
Circuits belonging to that District, according to the prin- 
ciple of proportion to numbers in Society. 

2. That when the Number of Children's Allowances, to 
be provided in each District collectively has been ascer- 
tained, those Allowances shall afterwards be annually di- 
vided among the several Circuits of that District ; and every 
Circuit shall be responsible for the sum so allotted to it, 
as its equitable share of this part of the General Expendi- 
ture of our Connexion, and shall be expected to furnish 
that sum by quarterly instalments, either out of its own re- 
gular Income, or, if necessary, by means of extraordinary 
local exertions. 

3. That although in ascertaining the number of Chil- 
dren's Allowances to be charged on every District, the 
Number of Members is to be the sole principle of calcula- 
tion, it is recommended, that in the partition of those Al- 
lowances among the several Circuits which compose that 
District, while the number of Members in each Circuit is 
still to be considered as the leading principle on which the 
division shall be made, the comparative circumstances of 
the Circuits, in other respects, shall also be taken into the 



THE CHILDREN'S FUND. 215 

account, and allowed to modify in particular cases the ap- 
plication of the general principle of Numbers j so that the 
more burdened Circuits may, as much as possible, be re- 
lieved by others in the same District, and the whole quota 
for each District be always raised within itself. 

4. That the Sums thus charged on the Districts, and 
divided among the Circuits, shall be considered as consti- 
tuting a separate Fund, to be called The Children's Fund; 
and that in consequence of this arrangement, no Allow- 
ances for Children's Quarterage shall in future be paid out 
of the Contingent Fund, either at the District-Meetings or 
at the Conference. 

5. That two General Treasurers for the Children's Fund 
shall be annually appointed by the Conference ; and that 
the Preachers and Circuit- Stewards of every District, when 
assembled in their annual District-Meeting, shall appoint 
one of our respectable Friends to act as Local Treasurer 
for the same Fund, in that District, during the ensuing 
year. 

6. That the Circuit-Stewards of every Circuit shall be 
expected to pay the regular Allowances for Children, (by 
quarterly instalments, as usual,) to those Preachers, sta- 
tioned for the time being in their Circuit, who are entitled 
to receive such Allowances, according to our existing Rules. 
— If the quota of contribution to the Children's Fund, 
charged on that Circuit according to the second and third 
Articles of this Plan, shall be less than the sum which they 
thus actually advance for the children of their own 
Preachers, they shall be entitled to receive the Deficiency 
back again, through the District Treasurer, out of the 
Children's Fund. — But if the quota charged on that Circuit 
shall be more than is needed for the payment of the 
Children of their own Preachers, they shall immediately 
after every Quarterly Meeting remit the Balance to the Dis- 
trict-Treasurer. — In all these cases, whatever sums the 
Circuit- Stewards shall advance to their own Preachers for 
their Children, according to Rule, such sums shall be con- 
sidered, when duly certified to the District-Treasurers, as 
paid on behalf of the Children's Fund, and entered in the 
District-Accounts accordingly. 

7. That the Local Treasurer of each District, after 
settling his Accounts with the Circuit- Stewards of his Dis- 
trict, shall immediately report the result to the General- 
Treasurers ; stating, distinctly and in detail, (1.) The Num- 
ber, Names, and Ages, of all the Children of Preachers 
actually stationed in that District, for whom Allowances 
are claimed from this Fund : (2.) The Number of allow- 
ances for Children charged on each particular Circuit in 



216 the children's fund. 

his District, in order to make up the quota of that Dis- 
trict : (3.) Whether, in his District, the sura charged on 
the several Circuits for this Fund, according to the pre- 
ceding Plan, is more than sufficient y or less than sufficient, to 
pay the whole of the Allowances due for Children to 
Preachers in that District ; and, in the former case, what 
is the amount of the Surplus which the District-Treasurer 
has to pay to the General Treasurer, or, in the latter case, 
what is the amount of the Deficiency which the General 
Treasurer is expected to furnish to the District-Treasurer. 

8. That the General Treasurers, on receiving these Re- 
ports from the District-Treasurers, shall proceed, as soon as 
possible (not later than the ensuing Conference), to settle 
the whole account for the year, by collecting the Surpluses 
of some Districts, and paying the Deficiencies of others, — 
by which method, the obvious inconvenience, resulting 
from the very great inequality of the Number of Members 
in Society, and of the Preachers' Families, in the different 
Districts, will, it is hoped, be satisfactorily removed, as far 
as it affects the present new arrangement. 

9. That a Committee, consisting of the President and 
Secretary of the Conference, the Chairmen and Representa- 
tives of Districts, the General Treasurers of the Children's 
Fund, and such other persons as may be appointed, shall 
annually meet, at the place where the Conference is to as- 
semble, for the purpose of examining the Accounts of this 
Fund for the year preceding, and of making the necessary 
calculations and allotments for the year ensuing. For the 
guidance of this Committee in these calculations, every 
District-Meeting shall annually specify, in its Minutes, the 
probable number of Children for whom the Preachers then 
in that District will claim allowances from the Fund for the 
following year. 

10. That all the proceedings in the District-Meetings re- 
specting this Fund, and Copies of the Reports to be made 
by the District-Treasurers, containing full information on 
all the points specified in the seventh Article of this Plan, 
shall be annually recorded in the Minutes of the District, 
and brought, together with the General Treasurers' Ac- 
count, before the Committee at the Conference, to be ap- 
pointed under the preceding Article. 

11. That it is expedient, in order to promote the univer- 
sal adoption and success of this Plan, that a Special Finan- 
cial District-Meeting shall be held, soon after the termina- 
tion of the present Conference, in every District, consisting 
of such Preachers as can most conveniently attend, (the 
Superintendent, at least, of every Circuit,) and also of the 
Circuit-Stewards throughout the District, whose presence, 



THE CHILDREN'S FUND. 217 

as the official financial representatives of their several Cir- 
cuits, shall be most earnestly requested. The place of 
meeting shall be determined by the Chairman, and the 
time shall be so fixed, as to precede the Michaelmas Quar- 
terly Meetings. The Preachers and Stewards, thus assem- 
bled, shall fix, definitely, for the year ensuing, what part 
of the Children's allowances, charged on their District col- 
lectively, shall be provided by each Circuit individually ; 
and shall choose a Local Treasurer for this Fund, who shall 
act in the District for which he is so appointed, until the 
next Annual District Meeting, at which time he must be 
re-elected, or a successor appointed, according to the fifth 
Article. 1819- 

III. Q. What is the judgment of the Conference on the 
subject of the Children's Fund, established last year? 

A. On receiving the Report of the General Treasurers 
and of the Committee, it is resolved, 

1. That we consider the Institution of this Fund, and 
the mode of paying the usual Circuit allowances for the 
Children of Travelling Preachers which has thus been intro- 
duced, as a most beneficial and important measure, highly 
equitable in its principle, and calculated greatly to facilitate 
the proper stationing of the Preachers, as well as to equal- 
ize that part of the expense connected with our plan of 
General Itinerancy, which may be considered as the com- 
mon burden of the whole Connexion. 

2. That the thanks of the Conference, and of the whole 
Body of Methodists, are particularly due to those Circuits, 
whose number of members is large in proportion to the 
number of Preachers employed in them, but which have 
set the example of prompt and cheerful compliance with 
the new Regulations on this subject, and thus evinced their 
superiority to merely local interests, and their generous 
concern for the welfare of the Connexion at large ; and 
that after such examples, and the sanction which has been 
given to the plan by the very general approbation of the 
Connexion, the Conference cannot but confidently anti- 
cipate, for the ensuing year, the universal adoption of this 
measure, as detailed in the Minutes of 1819, (see No. II.) 
which are hereby unanimously confirmed, with the addi- 
tions, and subject to the explanations contained in some 
subsequent articles of the present Minute. 

3. That the Committee, to be appointed at this Confer- 
ence, for dividing among the several Districts the probable 
disposable Product of the Contingent Fund for 1821, shall 
also be a Committee for stationing the Children on the 
Districts for the ensuing year ; but that in future the Com- 
mittee of the Children's Fund, appointed to meet on the 

h 



218 the children's fund. 

day before the Conference, shall annually undertake that 
office according to the Rule of last year. 

4. That the said Committee, in making their calculations 
for that purpose, shall take the numbers of Members in the 
Circuits composing each District, exactly as they have been 
reported to the Clerks at this Conference ; and that the 
numbers, as annually reported at the Conference, by the Re- 
presentative of the District, shall in all cases be adopted, 
for the year then next ensuing, as the general basis of all 
calculations affecting this Fund, — because any partial alte- 
ration, even in case of real error, would usually be of small 
consequence to the individual Circuit or District, and could 
not be effected, after the general calculations have been 
once made and published, without materially deranging 
the whole plan. 

5. That in dividing the Children's Allowances among 
the several Districts, according to their number of mem- 
bers, on the ratio which may be annually found just and 
necessary, when a fractional number occurs, if such frac- 
tional number be one half or upwards of the whole num- 
ber which ought to provide for one allowance, it shall in 
every such case be reckoned as if it had amounted to that 
whole number, and one additional child shall, for that year, 
be stationed on that District. And if this provision shall 
not prove sufficient to make up the loss which would arise 
from the omission of Fractional Numbers in the Division, 
One Allowance more shall be added to those Districts whose 
Fractional Numbers come nearest to the one half of the num- 
ber fixed in the General Ratio, until the whole number of 
Allowances which are wanted shall have been distributed 
among the different Districts. 

6. That the Division among the Districts having been 
made at the Conference, on the plan above-mentioned, the 
Preachers and Circuit-Stewards of each District, assembled 
in a special Financial District-Meeting, to be held before 
the Michaelmas Quarterly Meeting, according to the 11th 
Article of the preceding Minute, shall then proceed to 
determine definitely what part of the Children's Allow- 
ances, charged on their District collectively, shall be pro- 
vided by each particular Circuit, and to adopt such measures 
as they may think necessary for securing the due collection 
of the quotas allotted to the several Circuits, so that the 
whole may be duly received by the District-Treasurer; and 
the surplus, if any shall remain, after paying the Children 
then in that District, be by him paid into the hands of the 
General Treasurers, (in Cash, or Notes payable on demand 
in London,") not later than the V/ednesday before the ensuing 
Conference. 

7. That the Circuit-Stewards of every Circuit shall be 



THE CHILDREN'S FUND. 219 

requested regularly to pay, either to the District-Treasurer, 
or to their Preachers on his account, at the close of every 
Quarterly Meeting, whatever sum may be then due from 
their Circuit for Children's Allowances ; in order that the 
District-Treasurer may, as far as possible, be enabled to 
make the usual Quarterly payments in his own District, at 
the proper time, without being subjected to the necessity of 
large pecuniary advances on account of the Fund. 

8. That the Financial District-Meetings in September 
shall not vote any grant of money from the Contingent Fund 
to any Circuit which may solicit such assistance, unless 
such Circuit engage to pay the whole of the Children's 
Allowances, allotted to it for that year, according to Rule : 
and neither the regular District-Meetings, nor the Con- 
ference, shall pay any sums so granted, unless it shall be 
certified that the said quota of Children's Allowances for 
the year has been, or will be, honourably discharged by the 
Circuit ; or, at least, that the Stewards have consented to 
the deduction of the sum wanted for that purpose from the 
amount of the Ordinary Deficiencies which were previously 
voted to their Circuit, so that its allotted share of Children's 
Allowances may, in all cases, be duly provided in the course 
of the current year. 

9. That the usual Quarterly Allowance to Children, 
having regular claims on this Fund, shall only commence 
on the first Quarter-day after their birth : one Quarter's 
Allowance, in advance, shall then be considered as becoming 
due, and the same sum as due on every succeeding Quarter- 
day (except in the case of boys while at our Public Schools), 
until they attain to that age at which, according to our 
established Rules, the allowances finally cease to be claim- 
able : — but in all cases of Children born in the course of the 
year, (between one Conference and another,) and not in- 
cluded in the account, laid before the preceding Conference, 
of the probable number to be provided for in that year, nor 
in the calculations founded on that account ; the Circuits, 
in which such cases shall occur, shall be earnestly requested 
to provide whatever Quarterly Allowances may become due 
for those Children, during the remainder of that year, out 
of their own local Funds, so that the accounts of the 
Children's Fund may not be perplexed by any reference to 
such Children. If in any instance, however, it shall appear 
to the annual District-Meeting to be absolutely impracti- 
cable for a Circuit to raise this small additional sum, they 
may recommend it as a special case to the Committee of the 
Children's Fund at the following Conference, who shall 
suggest such mode of relief as, in the circumstances of the 
Connexion at the time, they may deem practicable and ex- 
pedient. If any Children, regularly entered on the List, 



220 



THE CHILDREN S FUND. 



and included in the calculations of the year, shall die before 
its termination, a proper proportion of the Allowance shall 
be retained by the District-Treasurer, and by him distinctly 
accounted for to the General Treasurer. 

10. That in the regular Minutes of every District- 
Meeting, the Chairman is required to direct the annual 
insertion of a complete and particular List of the names of 
all the Children of Preachers then stationed in that District, 
for whom the usual Quarterage is claimed, during that year, 
whether paid by the Treasurer of the General Children's 
Fund, or in the Circuits: And to the name of each Child 
on the List shall be appended its age, at the Midsummer 
Quarter-day of that year j so that it may be annually 
ascertained, by the compilation of one general List, not 
only how many Children have claims on the Circuits or 
Fund, but also for how many years the allowance has been 
already paid for each Child, and how much longer such 
Child will be entitled by Rule to receive the Allowance. 
In stating the ages, the additional Quarters, if any, should 
be added to the number of years specified in the account. 

11. That every Chairman is further required, to obtain 
at the annual Meeting of his District, and cause to be in- 
serted in its Minutes, a List, containing the probable num- 
ber of Children for whom each Preacher then stationed in 
his District will have to claim the Allowances for the fol- 
lowing year ; and to produce such List, in the Committee 
of the Children's Fund, on the day before the Meeting of 
the Conference, in order to assist the said Committee in 
making the necessary calculations and allotments for the 
year ensuing. 

12. That the District-Treasurers shall be earnestly re- 
quested to settle their Accounts for the year with the 
Stewards of every Circuit in their District, as soon as pos- 
sibls after the Midsummer Quarterly-Meetings in each 
year ; and to transmit to the Secretary of this Fund, the 
complete Accounts of the District for that year, in reference 
to the said Fund, not later than the Tenth Day of July; 
in order that time may be afforded for arranging the 
whole, and preparing them for the Committee at the Con- 
ference. The Account of every District-Treasurer should 
include, (1). The Names and Total Number of Chil- 
dren of Preachers actually stationed in that District, 
for whom Allowances are claimed. (2.) The Number of 
Allowances for Children charged on each particular 
Circuit of his District, in order to make up the Quota 
which was allotted to that District by the Committee at 
the preceding Conference. (3.) A Statement, whether, in 
his District, the Sums charged on the several Circuits 
for this Fund have been more than sufficient, or less than 



THE CHILDREN'S FUND. 221 

sufficient, to pay the whole of the Allowances due for 
Children to Preachers in that District ; and, in the for- 
mer case, what is the Amount of the Surplus which he, as 
District-Treasurer, has to pay to the General Treasurers ; 
or in the latter case, what is the Amount of the Deficiency 
which the General Treasurers are expected to refund to the 
District-Treasurer. 1820. 
IV. It is resolved, 

1 . That the Chairman of every District shall be required 
to see that all the Regulations respecting the management 
of this Fund, which are detailed in the two preceding 
Minutes, with the additional Provision contained in the 
next Article of this Minute, be fully carried into effect in 
the District under his charge ; and that he shall be held 
individually responsible for the insertion in his District- 
Minutes of the proper Lists, described in the 10th and 11th 
Articles of the preceding Minute, and for the timely trans- 
mission of them to the Committee of the Children s Fund 
at their Meeting before the Conference. 

2. That to prevent confusion in the Accounts of the 
District-Treasurers, and for other weighty reasons, it is 
now found necessary to direct, that no Preacher's Child, 
born in the course of the year, (between one Conference 
and another,) and not included in the accounts, laid before 
the preceding Conference, of the probable number to be 
provided for in that year, nor in the arrangements of the 
Financial District Meeting in September, shall have any 
allowance for that year from the Children's Fund j but that 
for every such Child the Preacher shall be entitled to claim 
the regular Quarterly Allowance, during the remainder of 
that year, from the Stewards of the Circuit to which he 
belongs. 

3. The District-Treasurers, who, after paying the Chil- 
dren's Allowances for the year in their respective Districts, 
may have any surplus in their hands, are respectfully re- 
quested to transmit the same in Cash, or Notes payable in 
London on demand, to the General Treasurers, not later than 
one week before the meeting of the ensuing Conference. 1821. 

V. Q. What further directions does the Conference give 
in reference to the Children s Fundf 

A. 1. That in case of the death of any of those Children 
who are provided for by this Fund, the Parents shall be 
permitted to receive for them the usual Allowance to the 
end of the year in which they died, in order to enable them 
to pay the expenses of their affliction and funeral, when 
those expenses are not paid by the Circuits in which they 
are stationed. 

2. All Letters on business relating to this Fund should 
he post-paid. 1822. 



222 

V. THE PREACHERS* FUND, OR ANNUI- 
TANT SOCIETY. 

I. Q. Are any directions necessary concerning the 
management of the -Preachers' Fund ? 

A. No money that has been or shall be subscribed to 
that Fund, shall be applied on any account to the dis- 
charge of contingencies or to any other purposes whatso- 
ever, except those which the Rules of the Fund direct. 1791. 

II. Q. Are there any Regulations to be made in respect 
to the Preachers' Fund ? 

A. The Subscriptions of the Travelling Preachers shall, 
in future, be considered as separate from the Subscriptions 
of the People ; and the Subscriptions of the People shall be 
considered as forming a Fund of Charity, which is to be 
applied only to the assistance of real objects of mercy among 
the Supernumerary and Superannuated Preachers, and 
the Widows of Preachers : nevertheless, those who have 
hitherto received allowances from the Fund, shall continue 
to receive them, notwithstanding this Regulation, as a 
retrospective law would be unjust. The Subscriptions of 
the Preachers, being their own money, subscribed, in 
general, with great difficulty, out of their little pittance, 
shall be distributed among the Supernumerary and Super- 
annuated Preachers and Widows, according to strict and 
impartial Rules of justice. 1799- 

III. The " Rules and Regulations of the Methodist 
Preachers' Annuitant Society,"* shall be printed in Octavo, 
and a Copy sent to every Member, for which he is to pay 
One Shillinsr. 1813. 



RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE ANNUITANT 
SOCIETY. 

Certain Itinerant Preachers of the People called Metho- 
dists, late in Connexion with the Reverend John Wesley, 
deceased, having agreed to form a Benefit Society, to be 
known by the name of the Itinerant Methodist Preachers' 
Annuitant Society, for the relief of Superannuated Preachers 
among themselves, and of the Widows of those who have 
died in connexion with the Conference of the above-named 
People ; and the said Preachers having formed a set of 
Rules and Regulations for the above purpose, at their 
Annual Conference held in Bristol, in the year 1798, and 
having exhibited the said Rules and Regulations for the 
abovepurpose, at their Annual Conference held in Bristol, 

* The Preachers' Fund took this r.ew form and designation at Liver- 
pool, on the 12th of August, 1813. 



THE PREACHERS' ANNUITANT SOCIETY. 223 

in the year 1798, and having exhibited the said Rules and 
Regulations at the General Quarter Sessions, held in and 
for the City and County of Bristol, — they were duly ex- 
amined, allowed, and registered in the Court of the said 
City, on the 15th day of July, 1799: — And the said 
Preachers having afterwards agreed to revise and alter the 
said Rules, the alterations then made were exhibited, al- 
lowed, and also registered at the Quarter Sessions held in 
and for the aforesaid City, on the 1 7th day of January, 1800 : 
and the said Preachers in their present Conference, held 
in Liverpool by adjournments from the 26th day of July 
to the 12th day of August, 1813, having agreed to revise, 
alter, and amend all the Rules made and registered as 
aforesaid, do now make and adopt the following Rules and 
Regulations in the place of the aforesaid rules and regu- 
lations ; and therefore do unanimously resolve : — 

I. That this Institution shall be called the Itinerant 
Methodist Preachers' Annuitant Society. 

II. That every Preacher, who is now., $? shall be here- 
after, received into full Connexion with the Conference of 
the People called Methodists, may become a member, if 
approved of by a majority of the Society. 

III. That as the Methodist Preachers, late in connexion 
with the Rev. John Wesley, deceased, have a property in 
books, in their Book-Room, City-Road, London, which 
property is valued at, and is worth, Six Thousand Pounds. 
Sterling; the said Preachers, including the members of this 
Society, have agreed to convey the said property to this 
Society, to be subject to its disposal, and applied to its use, 
according to the Rules and Regulations of the same ; and. 
they have agreed also, that the Steward of the said Book- 
Room, for the time being, shall give a bond to the Treasurer 
of this Society, for the time being, for the above sum of 
Six Thousand Pounds Sterling, bearing legal interest from 
the date of these presents ; which interest is to be paid an- 
nually into the hands of the said Treasurer, to be applied 
to the use of this Society, according to its Rules and 
Regulations. 

IV. That every new member shall, on his admission, 
pay Ten Guineas into the Funds of this Society; and that 
every Preacher shall subscribe annually Gne Guinea and a 
Half: the money to be paid at the time of the meeting of 
Conference.* 

V. That every member of this Society, who is considered 
as superannuated by the Conference, or by them declared 

* The terms of admission now are Fifteen Guineas, and the Annual 
Subscription Five Guineas. 



224 the preachers' annuitant society. 

incapable of fulfilling the duties of an Itinerant Preacher, 
shall receive an Annuity from this Institution, according 
to the plan hereunto subjoined ; that is to say, if he have 
travelled, under the direction of the Conference, less than 
twenty years, he shall receive annually Twenty-four Gui- 
neas .- If he have so travelled twenty years, and less than 
twenty-five years, he shall receive annually Thirty Guineas: 
If he have so travelled twenty-five years, and less than thirty 
years, he shall receive annually Thirty-jive Guineas .■ If he 
have so travelled thirty years, and less than thirty-five 
years, he shall receive annually Forty Guineas : And if he 
have travelled thirty-five years or upwards, he shall receive 
Forty-Jive Guineas : The payments shall be made every six 
months, and shall commence from the time at which the 
said member is superannuated, or declared incapable, as 
aforesaid. 

VI. That the widows of members, under the regulations 
hereinafter-mentioned, shall receive an Annuity from this 
Institution, according to the following Plan ; that is to say, 
If the deceased member had travelled, under the direction 
of the Conference, less than ten years, his widow shall re- 
ceive annually Twelve Guineas : If he had so travelled ten 
years and less than fifteen years, she shall receive annually 
Eighteen Guineas : If he had so travelled fifteen years, and 
less than twenty years, she shall receive annually Twenty- 
four Guineas : If he had so travelled twenty years, and 
less than twenty-five years, she shall receive annually 
Thirty Guineas : If he had so travelled twenty-five years, 
and less than thirty years, she shall receive annually Thirty- 
five Guineas : If he had so travelled thirty years, and less 
than thirty-five years, she shall receive annually Forty 
Guineas : And if he had so travelled thirty-five years, or 
upwards, she shall receive annually Forty -five Guineas: This 
Annuity shall be paid, as above specified, so long as each 
widow continues unmarried ; but shall cease immediately 
on her re-marriage. 

VII. That no woman who shall have married a member 
of this Society, after he has been superannuated or declared 
incapable as aforesaid, shall, after his decease, receive any 
benefit from this Institution. 

VIII. That the widow of a preacher, who has been mar- 
ried to the said preacher after he had travelled twenty years, 
shall not be entitled to the Annuity of Thirty Guineas, until 
she have paid down Fifteen Guineas for the use of this So- 
ciety, over and above what her said husband had paid be- 
fore into the Society's Funds ; but that the said widow 
may, and shall be permitted to pay the said Fifteen Guineas 



THE PREACHERS' ANNUITANT SOCIETY. 225 

by instalments of three or more Guineas, per annum, above 
her Annual Subscription. 

IX. That every Annuitant shall continue to subscribe 
One Guinea and a half* annually to the support of this Fund, 
at the time above-mentioned. 

X. That no member of this Institution shall be consi- 
dered as a superannuated preacher, but he who is declared 
by the Methodist Conference incapable of fulfilling the duties 
of an Itinerant Preacher, as aforesaid. 

XI. That if a member of this Society, above fifty-five 
years of age, marry a woman under thirty, she shall not, 
at his decease, be entitled to any support from this Fund : 
and if he marry a woman above thirty, and under forty, 
she shall have Twenty-four Guineas per annum only. 

XII. That a member, expelled from the Methodist Con- 
nexion by the Conference, or who shall, of his own accord, 
withdraw from being an Itinerant Preacher, or from con- 
tinuing to be a member of this Society, shall be considered 
as excluded, to all intents and purposes, from all benefit 
from this Institution ; and that the said member shall for- 
feit all the monies he has paid into its Funds, f 

XIII. That a Treasurer, with two or more Stewards, 
shall be appointed, who shall annually receive the monies 
belonging to this Institution ; and after paying all legal 
claims, shall immediately put out the surplus on legal in- 
terest, under the direction of a Committee of not less than 
eleven members, chosen by ballot from the Subscribers, at 
the annual Meeting of the Society. The concurrence of 
five members, at least, shall be necessary to authorise any 
disposal of the said surplus. 

XIV. That if, in the judgment of three-fourths present 
of the members of this Society, its funds should be found 
to have increased so as to admit of an increase of the an- 
nuities, such addition shall be made to the annuities, as in 
the judgment of the said three-fourths of the members, the 
funds shall be deemed capable of affording. 

XV. That if the expenditure should, at any time, exceed 
the income, a majority of the members, at one of the an- 
nual Conferences of the people called Methodists, shall fix 
on a plan, which shall cause the income at least to equal 

* The Annual Subscription from Annuitants is the same as that of any 
other member; viz. Five Guineas. 

+ The fact is, that, though no man, whether expelled or voluntarily- 
withdrawing from the Connexion, can legally claim the monies which he 
may have contributed to this fund, yet, in either case, if he continue to 
contribute his annual quota, he can legallv claim an annuity from it, ac- 
cording to the regulations in the text. The Conference, therefore, pru- 
dently foregoes its own enactment, and. when required, refunds to ex- 
pelled and retired Preachers whatever sum they mav have contributed. 

L 2 



226 the preachers' annuitant society. 

the expenditure, by increasing the annual Subscriptions, 
or by lessening the annuities, or by both, or by any other, 
method which the wisdom of the members may devise, so 
as still to preserve the Institution according to its original 
spirit and design. 

Si XVI. Provided, that if this Society should, at any time, 
be so diminished as not to be able to answer all the pur- 
poses now intended by it, then the Society shall be dis- 
solved in the manner required by the Act of Parliament,* 
if a dissolution can be so obtained, but not otherwise. 

XVII. That every thing relative to the management of 
this Society, shall be done by a majority of the members 
then present. 

XVIII. And whereas it has been usual for several of the 
members and friends of the Methodist Societies, late in 
connexion with the late Rev. John Wesley, to subscribe 
certain monies annually, for the support of afflicted super- 
numerary and superannuated Preachers, and of their 
families, and also of the widows and children of such 
Preachers : and whereas by the Act of Parliament, under 
the authority of which this Society is founded, provision is 
made for the receiving of voluntary subscriptions, dona- 
tions, and legacies, in aid of the funds of such institutions ; 
it is hereby agreed, that an account of such contributions 
shall be taken by the Stewards of the Society ; and that 
they shall be kept separate from the account of the sub- 
scriptions of the members of the said Society ; and termed 
The Methodist Preachers' Auxiliary Fund: And for the 
better execution of the designs of the said contributions, 
it is further agreed, that a Committee of not less than 
Eleven persons, according to section the 5th of the afore- 
said Act, shall be chosen by ballot, at the annual meeting 
of the said Society ; which Committee shall hear all claims 
on the said Auxiliary Fund, and shall determine on the sum 
to be allowed to each claimant : and if the said claimant 
be dissatisfied with the sum allowed to him or lier by the 
said Committee, he or she may appeal to the Society at 
large, at their annual meetings, whose judgment shall be 
decisive and final. 

* Extract from the 33d Geo. III. Ch. 54. Sec. 12.—" That it shall not 
he lawful for any such Society, by any Rule, Order, or Regulation, at 
any general meeting, or otherwise, to dissolve or determine such So- 
ciety, so long as the Intents or Purposes declared by such Society, or 
any of them, remain to be carried into effect, without the consent and 
approbation of five-sixths of the then existing Members of such Society, 
and also of all Persons then receiving, or then entitled to receive, Relief 
from such Society, either on account of sickness, age, or infirmity, to be 
testified under their hands individually and respectively." 



THE PREACHERS' ANNUITANT SOCIETY. 227 

XIX. That any member, neglecting to send his annual 
subscription at the time above mentioned, shall be fined, 
for the first year, Five Shillings j for the second year, 
Half- a- Guinea j the fines to be thrown into the common 
stock ; but if he neglect to send in his subscription for 
three years, he shall be excluded, and forfeit all the monies 
he has paid into this fund, unless such person may have 
been employed by the Conference in any of the foreign 
missions ; the case of such a member shall be determined 
by a majority of the members then present. The provi- 
sions of this rule shall apply to the payment of the annual 
subscriptions of all claimants on the Society, as well as to 
the subscriptions of members. 

XX. If a Preacher, who has been considered as super- 
annuated, and who in consequence has become a claimant 
on this Society, according to the fifth Rule, become again 
an effective man, he shall cease to be an annuitant : but if 
he be declared again superannuated, and incapable of ful- 
filling the duties of an Itinerant Preacher, he shall have 
the same claims as heretofore, subject to the provisions and 
regulations already mentioned. 

XXI. That all difficulties and disputes relative to the 
business of this Society, shall be referred to a Committee 
of Eleven persons, chosen annually by ballot from the 
members then present; and the judgment of the majority 
shall be finally decisive; provided the said judgment be 
not contrary to any thing in the existing Rules of this 
Society. 

XXII. That the books of the said Society shall be so kept 
that any member may have free access to them at all times. 

XXIII. That all the accounts of the said Society shall 
be publicly read over at, and approved by, the annual 
meeting of the said Society. 



I, the undersigned, one of his Majesty's Justices of the 
Peace for the County of Lancaster, do approve of the above- 
written rules. 

John Vause. 



At the General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, held by 
adjournment at Liverpool, in and for the County of Lan- 
caster, on Wednesday the Eleventh day of May, in the 
Fifty-fourth year of the Reign of King George the Third, 
the before-written Articles were allowed and confirmed. 

(Signed) E. Gorst, 

Deputy Clerk of the Peace. 



228 

VI. THE AUXILIARY FUND. 

1. The mode of supplying the wants of our Supernu- 
merary Preachers shall be left to the discretion of the 
Committee of Eleven, annually appointed ; who shall de- 
termine the measure of relief that ought to be afforded to 
the respective claimants, in addition to their annuity from 
the Legal Fund j and shall also decide, according to cir- 
cumstances, from what source the additional allowance 
should be derived. 1806. 

II. The Account of all the Receipts and Disbursements 
of the Methodist Preachers' Auxiliary Fund shall, after this 
year, be published, not in the Minutes, but separately, in 
the octavo size, and a copy sent to every Subscriber of 
Half-a-Guinea, and upwards. The Superintendents are to 
bring with them to the Conference, for that purpose, an 
accurate List of the Subscribers in their respective Cir- 
cuits, alphabetically arranged, and to deliver it, with the 
monies, to the Clerk of the said Fund. 1813. 

N.B. By a Minute made at the Conference at Leeds, in 
1818, it was enacted, that every Circuit, however poor, 
should produce One Guinea to this Fund ; and that the 
Superintendent Preacher should be held responsible for 
the Money. 

III. Q. In what manner shall our Rules respecting the 
Preachers' Auxiliary Fund be executed ? 

A. 1. All allowances proposed to be made out of that 
Fund in certain cases of peculiar affliction, to Preachers 
regularly stationed in Circuits, shall be first proposed in 
the Quarterly-Meeting, and recommended by the signa- 
ture of one of the Circuit-Stewards. They shall then be 
examined in the District-Meetings, and receive their sanc- 
tion. They shall next be submitted, after the cases of 
Superannuated and Supernumerary Preachers, and those 
of the widows and children of deceased Preachers have 
been considered, to the investigation of the Committee of 
Eleven, chosen, according to law, at every Conference. 
The decision of that Committee, if approved of by the 
Conference, shall be final. And no allowance for afflic- 
tion shall be paid to Preachers, stationed on Circuits as 
effective men, which has not been thus examined and 
approved. 

2. A Report of the whole Receipts and Disbursements 
of the Auxiliary Fund, shall continue to be published an- 
nually, and a copy sent to every Subscriber of Ten Shil- 
lings or upwards. In the Preface to every such Annual 
Report shall be reprinted the following Rule, according to 
which all Subscriptions to it are strictly appropriated, viz., 



THE AUXILIARY FUND. 229 

— " The monies raised for the Auxiliary Fund shall be 
applied, after paying the Old Annuitants who have regular 
claims upon it. (1.) To supply the wants of Supernume- 
rary Preachers, not yet declared superannuated. (2.) To 
assist Preachers who have been visited by peculiar per- 
sonal or family afflictions. (3.) To furnish additional aid 
to Superannuated Preachers, whose legal allowance from 
the Methodist Preachers' Annuitant Society is inadequate 
to their wants. And, (4.) in general, to defray various 
miscellaneous expenses, respecting the families of disabled 
or deceased Preachers. " 

3. Among the cases provided for under the preceding 
Rule, those of the Children of deceased Preachers shall be 
taken into particular consideration by the Committee of 
Eleven ; and a sum not exceeding the amount of the usual 
provision for Children of living Preachers, shall be appro- 
priated for their education and maintenance. 

4. The relief to be occasionally granted to Preachers in 
the cases of affliction, described under the first Article of 
this Minute, is only to be allowed out of the Auxiliary 
Fund, in such instances of peculiar affliction as cannot be 
relieved in the ordinary and regular way, by the exertions 
of the Circuits in which those Preachers labour. The Dis- 
trict-Meetings, and the Committee of Eleven, are required 
to pay particular attention to this point. 

5. Every Superintendent, in whose Circuit any Claimant 
on the Auxiliary Fund may reside, is required to lay the 
whole case of such Claimant before the District-Meeting 
of which he is a member ; the particulars of which shall 
be entered upon the District-Minutes for the direction of 
the Committee of Eleven. On the same Minutes shall 
also be entered the exact age of those Children of decease i 
Preachers, in whose behalf any claim is made upon this 
Fund. 1815. 

IV. The Minute made last year, [see No. III.] which 
declares, that " the relief to be occasionally granted to 
Preachers in cases of affliction is to be allowed out of the 
Auxiliary Fund, only in such instances of peculiar affliction 
as cannot be relieved in the ordinary way, by the exertions 
of those Circuits on which such Preachers labour ," — shall be 
annually reprinted, with the other Rules respecting the 
Distribution of the Auxiliary Fund, in the Report of that 
Fund. 1816. 

V. It is resolved, that, in the Grants which are annually 
made from the Auxiliary Fund, the Committee of Eleven, 
legally chosen, shall take into consideration all the circum- 
stances of the Claimants, including the number of Children 
dependent on them, and shall grant, in one total Sum, ac- 



230 THE AUXILIARY FUND. 

cording to the necessity of the case, such supply as may be 
judged expedient ; consistently with the state of the Fund ; 
but it is the determination of the Conference not to go 
beyond the Income of the Year, in the distribution of the 
Money which shall be granted. 1820. 

VI. The Chairmen of Districts are required to send to 
the Treasurer such parts of the Minutes of the District- 
Meetings as relate to the Auxiliary Fund, immediately after 
the Meeting of their Districts j in order that he may have 
sufficient time, before he leaves his Circuit to attend the 
Conference, to arrange and prepare the Cases recom- 
mended to the consideration of the Committee of Eleven. 
1826. 

VII. 1. All Allowances for affliction, in special cases, to 
Preachers actually stationed in Circuits, and for funeral 
expenses of Preachers so stationed, when such Allowances 
cannot be provided for by the Circuits, shall in future be 
made chargeable, as Extraordinaries, on the Contingent 
Fund, according to our ancient usage ; and must, like all 
other claims for Extraordinaries, pass through the pre- 
vious examination of the Annual District-Meetings, and 
of the Financial Committee at the Conference. By this 
return to the old-established arrangement, the sums con- 
tributed to the Auxiliary Fund will be wholly and exclu- 
sively devoted to the assistance of Superannuated and Su- 
pernumerary Preachers, and of the widows and orphan 
children of deceased Preachers. 

2. The orphan boys of deceased Preachers, and the sons 
of Superannuated and Supernumerary Preachers, shall be 
admitted to the benefit of our Schools at Kingswood and 
TVoodhouse-Grove, under the usual regulations ; on the 
payment of a sum of Eighteen Pounds per annum, by the 
Treasurer of the Auxiliary Fund to the Treasurer of the 
School Fund, towards the board, clothing, and education of 
every such orphan, or other boy so admitted. 1829- 



231 



0H£ttHmtm#. 



I. THE BOOK-ROOM.* 

Our late Father in God, the Rev. John Wesley, was the 
original Founder and Proprietor of our Book-Concern. He 
printed, published, and sold his own and. his Brother's 
Works, with the Works of the late Rev. John Fletcher, 
and other Preachers in his Connexion, for the benefit of 
mankind in general, and the maintenance, defence, and 
progress of Methodism in particular. He had a printing- 
office, warehouse, shop, &c, of his own, and employed such 
servants therein as he thought fit. The Assistants of the 
Circuits were his Agents in the Country, and sold his Pub- 
lications for the allowance of one penny in every shilling, 
and, in some cases, without any allowance whatever. The 
Preachers stationed in London for the time being, with Mr. 

* As the Book-Concerns of the Methodist Connexion hare ever been 
an important part of its economy, and the Regulations which from time 
to time were found necessary to carry it on became numerous and com- 
plex, a Digest of the Rules was found to be desirable as early as the year 
180-1. To this object, therefore, the Book-Committee in London at that 
time directed their attention, and " recommended to the ensuing Confer- 
ence carefuhY to revise all their Rules respecting printing and publishing, 
and to insert in the Minutes a proper Digest of the whole, containing the 
result of their final deliberations and conclusions upon these subjects ; 
as it appeared to that Committee, that the Rules then in existence, were 
not sufficiently clear and consistent." The Conference, however, though 
they were sensible of the importance of the recommendation, wero, 
through the multiplicity of business, unable to enter into the subject, and 
referred the accomplishment of the design to the Book-Committee. After 
considerable deliberation they submitted a System of Rules, -containing 
most of their old, and some new ones, to the consideration of the Con- 
ference of 1806. The Plan was considered and adopted by that Confer- 
ence, as their Plan for conducting and managing their Book-Concerns, 
and was accordingly published by their authority, for the information 
and direction of all the Members of their Body. Since that time it has 
undergone another revision, which brings it down to the year 1824. 
This Document, together with the Preamble which accompanied the 
former System of Rides, is presented in this and the following pages. 



232 THE BOOK-ROOM. 

Wesley's principal servants in the business, were a Com- 
mittee of advice, and the profits of the concern were at 
Mr. Wesley's disposal. 

The Assistants of the Circuits settled annually with Mr. 
Wesley's Book-Steward, and he was accountable to Mr. 
Wesley. 

In Mr. Wesley's last Will and Testament, bearing date 
February 25, 1789, there was the following clause respect- 
ing his Books, &c. : — 

" I give all my Books now on sale, and the copies of 
them (only subject to a Rent-charge of 85/. a-year to the 
Widow and Children of my Brother) to my faithful friends, 
John Horton, merchant, George Wolfe, merchant, and 
William Marriott, stockbroker, all of London, in Trust for 
the General Fund of the Methodist Conference, in carrying 
on the Work of God by Itinerant Preaching : on condition 
that they permit the following Committee, Thomas Coke, 
James Creighton, Peard Dickinson, Thomas Rankin, George 
Whitfield, and the London Assistant for the time being, 
still to superintend the Printing Press, and to employ 
Hannah Paramore and George Paramore as heretofore, un- 
less four of the Committee judge a change to be needful. 

" I give my Types, Printing Presses, and every thing 
pertaining thereto, to Mr. Thomas Rankin and Mr. George 
Whitfield, in Trust for the use of the Conference." 

But, after Mr. Wesley's death, a Deed appeared, bearing 
date Oct. 5, 1790, wherein he gave all his Books, Stock in 
Trade, &c. to Thomas Coke, Alexander Mather, Peard 
Dickinson, John Valton, James Rogers, Joseph Taylor, 
and Adam Clarke, in Trust for carrying on the Work of 
God by Itinerant Preachers, in connexion with the Con- 
ference, according to the Deed of Declaration, filed in 
Chancery in the year 1784, subject still to the Debt before 
mentioned, and all Debts and Legacies specified in the 
Will. 

The Executors of Mr. Wesley's Will attended the first 
Conference after his death in the year 1791, and appeared 
to question the validity of this Deed ; but upon their return 
to London, they consulted the Solicitor-General and the 
King's Advocate, and received for answer, "That the Deed 
was Testamentary ; and that it superseded the Will, in re- 
spect to the Books, Copyrights, &c, being made subse- 
quently to the Will." They immediately informed the 
Seven Trustees of the Deed of the opinion they had re- 
ceived j and the Trustees hastened to London, and took out 
Letters of Administration accordingly. 

Thus the property was vested in the hands of Seven 
Trustees, for the use of the Conference ; but, before the 



THE BOOK-ROOM. 233 

Trustees left London, they executed a Deed bearing date 
November 8, 1791, by which they granted, bargained, and 
sold all the property vested in them, unto George Whitfield 
and his Assigns, to and for the sole use and benefit of the 
aforesaid Conference, and the successors thereof for ever ; 
and thus the property was entrusted to him : and in his 
hands it remained, until the Conference held in London, 
1804, when it was agreed that two Deeds should be drawn 
up, by the Solicitor of the Conference, Mr. Allan ; one, by 
which George Whitfield should convey the property to 
fifteen members of the Conference, through an intermediate 
person, R. C. Brackenbury, Esq., in Trust j and another, 
by which the Book-Steward for the time being, should be 
obliged to account with the Conference from year to year, 
for the business carried on, and all the profits arising there- 
from. These Deeds have been made and executed, and 
thus the property is settled and secured, in Trust, for car- 
rying on the Work of God, by Itinerant Preaching, in con- 
nexion with the Conference of the People called Methodists, 
according to the Deed of Declaration, filed in Chancery in 
the year 1784. 

The Conference, for the management of their Book- 
Affairs, find it requisite to have a Committee, an Editor, 
and a Book- Steward. 



I. CONCERN [XG THE COMMITTEE. 

I. The Committee shall consist of Preachers stationed 
in London or its vicinity, who shall be annually appointed 
by the Conference. 

II. The Committee shall appoint, from among them- 
selves, a Sub-Committee of three Preachers, who shall 
meet at least once in three months, to examine all the 
vouchers, and to see that all the entries and the accounts 
are correct. 

III. The Committee shall also appoint, from among 
themselves, a Sub-Committee of not less than Five Preach- 
ers, including the Editor, the Book-Steward, and the Secre- 
tary ; who shall meet once a month to examine the Adver- 
tisements which may be proposed for insertion on the cover 
of the Magazine ; and to reject all such as are of an irre- 
ligious, immoral, or injurious tendency. 

IV. The Committee shall meet ordinarily for the trans- 
action of business, once in every month (August excepted) ; 
and on other extraordinary occasions as they may find it 
necessary, either at the Book-Room, or at some other place 
which they may appoint. Each member shall be fined half- 



234 THE BOOK-ROOM. 

a-crown for every instance of absence ; unless in case of 
sickness, distance from home, or actual engagement at the 
time in ministerial work. 

V. At the regular meetings of the Committee, a general 
account of the trade of the Book-Room during the pre- 
ceding month shall be laid before them, including an ac- 
count of all the sums paid and received, so as to render 
them acquainted, from time to time, with the business done 
at the Book-Room during that period. 

VI. The Book-Steward shall, once in every three months, 
lay before the Committee, on a separate sheet of paper, a 
list of all the debts owing by the Book-Room, that are not 
trading debts, but for which interest is paid ; such lists 
shall contain an account of the money owing to the Le- 
galized Fund, and shall always be laid before the Commit- 
tee separate from the common Cash-Account. 

VII. The Book-Steward shall not take any money on 
interest, from any quarter whatever, without previously 
stating the necessity of such loan to the Committee, and 
obtaining specifically their consent : nor shall they consent 
to the borrowing of money on interest, to any amount, but 
in case of absolute necessity. 

VIII. No purchase of Books published by other Book- 
sellers, whether for money or in exchange, above the 
value of £50, in any one month, shall be made, unless to 
meet some actual order, without previous consultation of 
the Committee ; and both the Book-Steward and the Com- 
mittee shall be careful not to make large purchases of 
articles which are not speedily saleable. 

IX. No work shall be reprinted without special consul- 
tation of the Committee ; who shall examine whether such 
reprint may not occasion an inexpedient and unproductive 
increase of Stock. When a reprint of any of our own 
works is called for, the Edition shall not be larger than is 
necessary for the purpose of a reasonable sale ; but our own 
works shall be reprinted from time to time as they are in 
demand. This regulation shall be applied to stereotype as 
well as other editions. 

X. Every member of the Committee shall have free 
access to all the offices, warehouses, and other apartments, 
where the property of the Conference is lodged, and to all 
books of accounts concerning the same ; in order that he 
maybe informed respecting the real condition of the Book. 
Concern, in its several departments. And should it appear 
to any member of the Committee, that either the Editor or 
the Book-Steward is unfaithful to the trust reposed in him, 
or is incompetent to the duties of his office, he shall give 
information in writing to the individual concerned, respect- 



THE BOOK-ROOM. 235 

ing the charges which he intends to bring against him ; and 
shall then lay the subject before the other members of the 
Committee at one of their meetings ; and the Committee, 
after hearing the whole case, shall, if they judge it neces- 
sary, suspend the person accused till the ensuing Con- 
ference ; to which he shall have the right of appeal, in 
common with any other Itinerant Preacher who may be 
suspended by a regular District-Meeting. 

II. CONCERNING THE EDITOR. 

I. He shall see that the Standard Works belonging to 
the Book-Room, particularly those of Messrs. Wesley and 
Fletcher, together with the Hymn-Book in common use 
among us as a Body, be correctly printed from time to time, 
according to the most approved editions of them, which 
were published under the superintendence of their respec- 
tive authors. 

II. The " Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine " is especially 
confided to him, and he is required to make it his constant 
and unwearied endeavour to render that periodical work as 
interesting and instructive as possible. 

III. The office of Editor shall be considered as strictly 
a temporary one. The Editor shall be appointed, like all 
our other Preachers, every year ; and no Preacher shall be 
appointed as Editor for more than six years in succession. 



IV. A depository shall be forthwith established, in a 
suitable part of the premises connected with our Book- 
room in London for the safe preservation of important 
and original manuscripts, of scarce and valuable books, 
and of other documents, especially such as are illustrative 
of the general and local history of Methodism, or of the 
usages and discipline of our Societies ; and the Editor of 
our Magazine for the time being shall be the Curator of 
the said depository. 1827. 

V. Is any alteration expedient in the rule which limits 
the Editor's term of service to six years ? 

A. We think that experience has shown the propriety 
of some modification of this rule, and therefore agree that 
the following shall in future be the rule in reference to this 
point : — 

If, under peculiar circumstances, it shall appear proper 
to the Book-Committee, for the time being, and also to a 
special Committee, appointed by the Conference to con- 
sider their recommendation, that an extension of the usual 
term will materially benefit the interests of the Connexion, 
the Editor may in such case be re-appointed for whatever 



236 THE BOOK-ROOM. 

term the Conference shall judge proper, not exceeding six 
additional years. 

This provisional appointment will of course be subject, 
like all other Stations, to the annual confirmation or re- 
versal of Conference. 1830. 

III. CONCERNING THE BOOK-STEWARD. 

I. On his entrance upon his office, an estimate shall be 
formed of the property, including the utensils in the Print- 
ing Office, which is committed to his trust; and inventories 
shall be taken of the whole. 

II. He shall execute a proper Bond for the payment of 
the profits of the Book-Concern ; which Bond shall be de- 
posited in the hands of the President for the time being. 

III. He shall take all proper care of the property com- 
mitted to his trust, that it suffer no damage. 

IV. He shall, with the advice and help of the Printer, 
purchase the Paper wanted for the business at our Office. 

V. He shall, with the concurrence and approbation of 
the Committee, (but not otherwise,) make agreements with 
Printers to print any work belonging to the Conference, 
which cannot be conveniently or suitably done at our own 
Office; and see that such Printer acts according to his 
agreement, or give information to the Committee of his 
failure therein. 

VI. He shall carefully examine, or cause to be examined, 
all Books, and all Prints and Maps for Books, which may 
be published on behalf of the Conference, and employ 
those stitchers, binders, and artists, who shall do their work 
best and upon the most reasonable terms : and in all these 
things he shall act with the advice of the Committee, and 
be under their control. 

VII. He shall be always provided, as far as possible, 
with a suitable stock of Books, in all their various states, 
that he may execute all orders with despatch ; and shall 
therefore give timely notice to the Committee when the 
copies of any work are nearly all sold, and it is requisite 
that it should be reprinted. 

VIII. Instead of keeping as part of the Stock, those 
works which are generally sold by other Booksellers, and 
are easily procured at any time, such Books shall be pur- 
chased as they are applied for from the country. 

IX. He shall take a particular and exact account of the 
Stock of Books every year, and lay it before the Conference 
if required ; and keep a regular Stock-Book, which shall 
be duly balanced when the Stock is taken. The entry of 
the Stock upon all saleable articles shall be made at the cost 



THE BOOK-ROOM. 237 

price, and in no instance whatever at a higher price ; and 
those articles which cannot be properly considered as sale- 
able, shall be entered at a lower rate. The price of each 
article shall be regulated by a fixed principle ; and such an 
entry shall be made on the first page of every annual Stock- 
Book, of the principle upon which the Stock is valued, as 
shall be a guide in every future valuation. 

X. He shall annually present to the Conference a cir- 
cumstantial account of all the debts which shall then be 
owing to and from the Book-Concern, and of the Cash in 
hand, that it may clearly appear what is the exact balance 
in its favour, and what is the Stock in trade. 

XI. He shall also annually present to the Conference an 
account, showing what sums of money have been received 
and expended, and for what purposes, during the pre- 
ceding year ; and by what means the balance has been ac- 
quired. 

XII. He shall send to each of our Irish Brethren, every 
year, a copy of the Minutes of Conference. 

XIII. He shall see that the Rules and Regulations of the 
Book-Room, so far as they respect the Superintendents 
of Circuits, shall be printed on a fly-leaf, and sent an- 
nually to every Superintendent immediately after the Con- 
ference. 

XIV. On the same principle which limits the appoint- 
ment of the Editor and the Missionary Secretaries to a 
given number of years, the office of Book-Steward shall be 
temporary ; and no Book-Steward shall hereafter remain 
in office more than ten successive years. 

IV. CONCERNING SALARIES. 

The Editor and Book-Steward, being always Preachers 
in connexion with the Conference, shall receive their allow- 
ances in proportion as the Preachers stationed in the Lon- 
don North Circuit for the time being. 

V. CONCERNING PUBLICATIONS. 

I. If it should appear to the Editor, or to the Book- 
Steward, that any Work now in print at the Book- Room is 
not worth reprinting, they shall state their opinion to the 
Committee ; and if the Committee agree with either of 
them in judgment, the work shall be suspended till the 
mind of the Conference be known ; but if the Committee 
differ from the Editor or Book-Steward, the work in ques- 
tion shall be reprinted without delay. 

II. If any person send a Manuscript or Printed Work to 
the Committee to become the property of the Conference, 



238 THE BOOK-ROOM. 

they shall carefully and impartially examine it without 
delay ; and if they approve of it, they shall be at liberty 
to purchase the copyright* on behalf of the Conference, or 
to purchase one. or more editions of it as they may deem 
expedient. All communications on this subject are to be 
made to the Committee through the medium of their 
Secretary. 

VI. CONCERNING THE SALE AND RETURN OF 
BOOKS. 

I. No Preacher shall sell at our Chapels, or publish from 
our Pulpits, any Books, but such as are sent regularly from 
the Book-Room by the Steward. 

II. A list of our own Books shall be prepared, any of 
which, if ordered, but not sold, may be left in the Stock. 
Another list shall also be prepared of such Books as, though 
not published by us, are regularly sold at our Book-Room, 
and which, if ordered, but not sold, shall be returned in the 
course of the year, if not cut open, soiled, or otherwise 
damaged. If a Preacher order any Book, not included in 
either of these lists, he shall be responsible for payment, 
and shall not be allowed to return it, or leave it in the 
Stock. 

III. Those Preachers who have the care of Books in the 
various Circuits, shall invariably send, with their order for 
the July and August Magazines, an exact account of all the 
Books of every description in their stock. 

IV. Every Superintendent is peremptorily required 
finally to settle his Book-Account for the preceding year, at 
each Conference ;f and also regularly to transmit the money 
in his hands, without any reserve or deduction whatever, 
(except for expenses for postage and carriage,) to the Book- 
Steward, at Christmas, at Lady-day, and at Midsummer- 
day, and as' much oftener as possible. The Book-Com- 
mittee are directed to use such means as they may find 

* This regulation was modified by the Conference of 1833. During 
that .year the Book-Committee had agreed to pay to the widow and family 
of the late Mr Richard Watson two thousand pounds, for certain manu- 
scripts and copyrights of his, besides conferring a small annuity upon his 
mother. This bargain came of course under the notice of Conference ; 
when, in consideration of the deceased's great and liberal services to the 
Connexion, the agreement, after some opposition, was sanctioned ; but a 
resolution was adopted, prohibiting the Book-Committee for the future 
from entering into any speculation exceeding the sum of one thousand 
pounds, without the previous consent of the Conference. 

t In 1826, the Book-Committee resolved, " that it be recommended to. 
Conference, that the name of any Preacher who has not paid his whole 
account to the Book-Steward, be reported to the Conference on the last 
day of its sitting, by the Book-Steward." 



THE BOOK-ROOM. 239 

expedient for the full and impartial execution of this rule, 
which is an important part of the system of financial re- 
gulations lately adopted with so much benefit to the Con- 
nexion, and which the measures lately agreed upon, in 
regard to the partial payment of Ordinary Deficiencies in 
the course of the year by the Treasurer of the Contingent 
Fund, now render practicable in every Circuit. The Con- 
ference also directs, with a view to the same object, that 
payment on delivery for our Magazines and other Books, 
shall be strongly recommended to the Subscribers and 
Purchasers by the Preachers, and also occasionally on the 
cover of the Magazine, as one means of materially assist- 
ing a Concern, on the profits of which the carrying on of 
the work of God in our own country so materially depends. 

VII. CONCERNING THE PRIVILEGES OF THE 

PREACHERS. 

I. Every Preacher who is received on trial, shall be 
furnished by his first Superintendent, as soon as possible, 
with a copy of Mr. Wesley's Sermons, and of his Notes on 
the New Testament, on the payment of One Guinea ; and 
when he is admitted into full connexion with the Confer- 
ence, the Guinea shall be returned by the Book-Steward. 

II. Every Travelling and Supernumerary Preacher shall 
have one copy of the Annual Minutes of the Conference, 
gratis. 

III. The Book- Steward shall allow the Itinerant 
Preachers to purchase our own Books for their own per- 
sonal use, at a discount of twenty-five per cent, from the 
selling price, and others at prime cost. 

IV. The Preachers who have the care of Books in the 
several Circuits, as some compensation for their trouble 
and responsibility, shall be allowed a commission of ten 
percent on all their sales. 

VIII. CONCERNING THE APPROPRIATION OF 

PROFITS. 

I. Immediately before the sitting of the Conference every 
year, a Sub-Committee of three Preachers, together with 
the Editor, the Book-Steward, and the Secretary of the 
Book-Committee, shall meet to inspect and examine the 
accounts of the Book-Concern, and to ascertain, as nearly 
as may be, what will be the disposable profits of the year 
when all the Preachers' accounts have been settled at the 
Conference. 

II. When the disposable profits of the year shall be 
certified to the Conference, they shall first allow out of 



240 THE BOOK-ROOM. 

them the payment of ^uch sum as may appear necessary, 
from year to year, on account of such private expenditure 
in behalf of the Connexion as cannot be brought into the 
accounts of the Contingent Fund ; they shall then order the 
payment of the apnual allowance to the Legalized Fund, 
and the Seniors' Fund : the sum fixed upon as the annual 
instalment for the liquidation of the debt upon the Book- 
Concern, shall next be advanced ; the remainder shall then 
be paid into the hands of the Treasurer of the Contingent 
Fund, in aid of the Yearly and July Collections. 
London, 1824. 

fiCf* There shall be a regular exchange of Minutes, 
Magazines, Missionary Reports and Notices, and of all 
new original Works, published by the European and 
American Methodists, from their respective Book-Rooms. 
1820. 



241 



II. THE CHAPEL -BUILDING -COMMITTEE 
AND CHAPELS. 

Let all Preaching-houses be built plain and decent ; but 
not more expensively than is absolutely unavoidable. 
Otherwise the necessity of raising money will make rich 
men necessary to us ; but if so we must be dependent upon 
them, yea, and governed by them. And then farewell 
to the Methodist discipline, if not doctrine too. — Large 
Minutes. 



1. Q. What directions shall be given concerning the 
execution and enrolment of Deeds ? 

A. 1. The Deed must be drawn on a parchment with a 
ten shilling stamp.* 

2. If it relate to a Preaching-house out of London, it 
must be acknowledged by a person or persons conveying 
the Premises to the Trustees, (after the execution of it,) 
before a Master Extraordinary in Chancery. N. B. almost 
every eminent Attorney at law in the country, is a Master 
Extraordinary in Chancery. 

3. It must be enrolled in Chancery within six lunar 
months after the execution of it. 1792. 

II. Q. Should not all our Chapels be properly settled on 
Trustees, so that they may always be preserved for the very 
same purposes for which they are built. 

A. Certainly they should : and we direct that all our 
Superintendents shall take immediate steps to settle the 
Chapels which are now built, if not already settled ; and 
that the Preachers shall not occupy any Chapel which may 
be built in future, until it is settled in a proper way. 

N. B. The Conference advises, that a book be provided 
in every Circuit, and that an abstract of the several Trust 
Deeds of the Chapels in that Circuit be registered in such 
book ; so that the nature of the Trust, the names of the 
Trustees, and the places where the Deeds are lodged, may 
at any time be known by the Superintendent Preachers. 
1808. 

III. We most earnestly advise and exhort our Friends to 
use the utmost caution with respect to the erection of new- 
Chapels ; — to remember especially Mr. Wesley's advice, 
"Beware of building expensive Chapels;" — and not to en- 
gage in any such undertaking, in the present state of our 
affairs, without a moral certainty that the income from seat- 

* The Act of 55th Geo. Ill, cap. 184, regulates the Stamp Duties, 
There is now no ten-shilling Deed Stamp in use. 
M 



242 CHAPELS AND CHAPEL BUILDING. 

rents, together with the subscriptions that may be raised 
in the Circuit to which the new Chapel is to belong, will be 
such as to prevent future embarrassment, and meet all the 
additional expenses of every sort, without that help from 
other parts of the Connexion which it is now found so 
very difficult to obtain. And we call the attention of our 
Preachers and Societies to the following Minute of the year 
1813; viz. "Our Friends who may contemplate in future 
the erection of new Chapels, are earnestly entreated to in- 
quire, before any decisive step be taken, whether, by the 
building of such Chapel, an additional Travelling Preacher 
will not be rendered necessary; and whether, in that case, 
they can support him out of the funds of the Chapel, or of 
their own Circuit." 1815. 

IV. £>. "What further measures can be adopted to pre- 
vent in future the imprudent erection of Chapels ? 

A. As the repeated cautions and entreaties of the Con- 
ference have in various instances been disregarded, we now 
deem it necessary to the honour and security of the Con- 
nexion, to appoint Five Brethren annually as a Chapel- 
Committee. To this Committee every proposal for the 
erection or purchase of any new or additional chapel,* 
with clear and full explanations of the necessity alleged, of 

* The following is the proper Form of an application to the Chapel- 
Building-Coniroittee for permission to erect a New Chapel. 

It is proposed that a New Chapel, feet in length, by feet 

in breadth, outside, be erected at in the Circuit; where 

the number of Members in Society is , the average of regular 

hearers about , and the population about . The estimated 

expense of the Land is £ ; and of the Building £ : towards 

which £ have been, or will be, raised by Subscriptions, &c. The 

income from Pew-rents, &c, will probably amount to £ per Annum. 

The Chapel will be properly settled on the Methodist Plan. The above 
proposal has received the sanction of the Quarterly and District-Meet- 
ings ; and the consent of the Chapel-Building Committee is hereby soli- 
cited. 

N.B. 1. "Where the land is not Freehold, the nature and term of its 
tenure must be distinctly specified. 

2. The nature of the place previously occupied for worship must be 
described, whether private house, room, or Chapel; and also, if it were 
either of the latter, the manner in which it is to be disposed of, and its 
proceeds appropriated. 

3. The Committee must also be informed, whether it is intended to 
erect a Gallery or not ; and if the former, of what kind. 

4. If a Sunday-school is to be connected with the Chapel, the Commit- 
tee must be assured that it will be a Methodist School ; and conducted 
according to the general rules and recommendations of our Connexion, in 
reference to such Institutions. 

5. When the sanction of the District-Meeting cannot be waited for, 
those words which report that sanction must be omitted ; and the Rule, 
requiring the recommendation of Three Superintendents, in their own 
hand- writing, must be strictly observed. 



CHAPELS AND CHAPEL BUILDING. 243 

the expense contemplated, and of the subscriptions, and 
other local income, likely to be raised. shaH be submitted 
by the Superintendent of the Circuit, before he shall give 
any sanction to such erection or purchase, or allow any step 
to be taken in the actual execution of the proposal : and no 
chapel shall be built or purchased without the consent of st 
majority of this Committee. 1817. 

V. In order to prevent the imprudent erection of Cha- 
pels, it is resolved, — 

1. That the Minute of last year [see No. IV.] respecting 
the Annual Appointment of a Chapel-Building-Committee, 
without whose previous consent no Chapel is to be built or 
purchased, be confirmed : and every Superintendent is re- 
quired to conform in all cases to the directions contained in 
that Minute. 

2. All proposed Enlargements of Chapels, as well as new 
Erections, must be submitted to the investigation of the 
Committee. 

3. No case shall be sanctioned by the Committee, unless 
it shall come before them as having received the previous 
approbation of the Quarterly-Meeting of the Circuit, and 
shall be recommended either by the Annual District-Meet- 
ing, or at least by three Superintendents in the neighbour- 
hood, who shall certify their approbation in writing. 1818. 

VI. The Secretary of the Chapel-Building-Committee is 
directed to provide a proper Book, in which he shaH re- 
gister from time to time the particulars of all Cases recom- 
mended to the Committee, and approved by them. This 
Register shall include the Cases approved in former years, 
since the first establishment of a Chapel-Building-Com- 
mittee ; and it shall be annually forwarded to the Com- 
mittee of the General Chapel-Fund at every Conference, in 
order to guide them in their Distributions from that Fund. 
1819. 

VII. Resolutions concerning the Chapel-Building-Com- 
mittee : — 

1. This Committee are requested to meet regularly on 
the First Monday in every Month ; and oftener, if neces- 
sary. 

2. All Letters on the subject of Chapels should be ad- 
dressed to the Secretary of this Committee. And it is 
particularly requested that such Letters may be sent post- 
paid. 

3. The Preachers and others whom it may concern, are 
reminded that, according to Rule, " No case shall be sanc- 
tioned by the Committee, unless it shall come before them 
as having received the previous approbation of the Quar- 
terly-Meeting of the Circuit, and shall be recommended 



244 CHAPELS AND CHAPEL BUILDING. 

either by the Annual District-Meeting, or, at least, by 
three Superintendents in the Neighbourhood, who shall 
certify their approbation in writing." And the Conference 
again strongly recommends that the consent of the District- 
Meeting, and not merely of three Superintendents, shall be 
obtained, before any decisive step is taken, wherever it is 
possible to wait, without material inconvenience, until that 
Meeting shall be assembled. 

VIII. This Committee are requested to meet regularly 
on the first Monday in every month ; and no permission to 
erect, purchase, or enlarge any chapel, shall be granted, 
unless seven members of the Committee at least be present. 
1828. 

IX. A copy of the conditions on which the Chapel-Build- 
ing-Committee may sanction the erection, purchase, or en- 
largement of any chapel shall be furnished to the Trustees 
of the said chapel, for insertion in their Trust- Book ; 
another to the Superintendent of the Circuit, to be entered 
in the Circuit-Book ; a third to the Chairman of the Dis- 
trict, to be recorded in the District Minute-Book ; and a 
fourth to the Treasurers of the Chapel- Fund. 1828. 

X. The Chapel-Building-Committee are instructed, when 
their permission is given for the erection of any chapel, to 
accompany it with an earnest request that the Trustees will 
subscribe annually, according to their means, from their 
Trust-Funds in aid of the Chapel-Fund. 1830. 

XI. That the proceedings of the Committee appointed 
to inquire into the eligibility of a plan for the Settlement 
of Methodist Chapels be confirmed; that the Model Deed 
prepared under their direction, and now laid before the 
Conference, be approved ; that the above summary* of the 
Proceedings of the Committee, with the Model Deed, and the 
precedent of a conveyance referring to it, be immediately 
printed, and a copy sent to each Circuit, to be preserved 
with the Public Documents for the use of the Circuit; that 
the general adoption of the plan be strongly recommended 
to the Connexion at large ; and that this Resolution be 
entered upon the Journal of the Conference, and published 
with the Summary of the Proceedings of the Committee. 
1832. 

* The Summary here referred to, together with an abstract of the 
Model Deed, will be found in the Appendix. 



245 

III. SUNDAY SCHOOLS.* 

I. Address of the Conference to the Methodist Societies 
on the subject of Sunday Schools. 

Among other Institutions for the purpose of extending 
true religion at home are our Sunday Schools ; and we re- 
joice in their number, the zeal with which they are conduct- 
ed, the sacrifices of so many of our young people who act as 
teachers, and the benefits which are constantly resulting 
from them. In proportion to the value of these Institu- 
tions, we are anxious that they should be so conducted as 
to yield their full proportion of moral good; and that in 
order to this, they should be preserved on their first prin- 
ciples. We would, therefore, exhort all who have kindly 
and benevolently engaged in them, to watch over them with 
a pious anxiety, that they may fully communicate to the 
children educated in them the knowledge and influence of 
the Holy Scriptures. Let them recollect, that a Sunday 
School is strictly and entirely a religious Institution, whose 
object is to train up children in the nurture and admonition 
of the Lord ; and that whatever has not a direct tendency 
to this end, is equally inconsistent with the principal design 
of such charities, and with the sanctity of the sacred day in 
which they are conducted, and that ultimately it will prove 
subversive of all genuine moral and religious effect. We 
regard it as essential to the religious character of Sunday 
Schools, that the children should be carefully instructed by 
Catechisms in the doctrines and duties of religion ; that 
they should be accustomed to read the Scriptures, accom- 
panied with the pious advices and explanations of their 
teachers ; that they should on every Sabbath be regularly 
brought to the public worship of God; and that the teachers 
themselves should be persons who " fear God and work 
righteousness," " apt to teach" and enforce the truths of 

* The Institution of Sunday-schools has, hy general consent, been at- 
tributed to Mr. Robert Raikes, of Gloucester, in the year 178-1. By the 
blessing of God on his industry as a Printer, he realized a considerable 
fortune, and spent the latter part of his life especially in the instruction of 
poor Children. His design, Avas, to prevent them from spending the 
Sabbath in idleness, tilth, and mischief; and to instruct them in the rudi- 
ments of learning, and the Christian Religion. Mr. Wesley no sooner 
heard of it, than he approved of the design, published an account of it in 
the Arminian Magazine for January, 1785, and exhorted his Societies to 
imitate this laudable example. Many of them followed his advice. In 
the year 1802, the Conductors of the Methodist Sunday-schools in 
London, formed a Committee for corresponding with persons in th^ 
Country engaged in the same work, with a view to extend and establish 
Schools on the plan of employing gratuitous Teachers only. For a fuller 
account of the design of this Committee, see the Methodist Magazine for 
the year 1802, pp. 388, 430. 



246 THE SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

experimental and practical piety. Under the direction of 
such views, these valuable Institutions will be the means of 
spreading through society the principles of truth and 
holiness ; of preserving from the poison of infidelity, now 
alas ! so industriously diffused, thousands of our rising 
youth ; of conveying light and purity into the dwellings of 
the poor ; and of correcting the morals of society. They 
may then with hope and confidence be commended to the 
blessing of God. IS 19- 

II. Q. What directions shall be given concerning our 
Sunday Schools, and especially concerning the attendance 
of the Children of those Schools on the Public Worship of 
the Lord's-day ? 

A. Let the Rules respecting our Sunday Schools, which 
were printed in the year 1817, be re-printed in the Minutes 
of the present year. They are as follows : — 

" It is the deliberate judgment of the Conference, that 
well-conducted Sunday Schools are of the greatest utility 
and importance, and deserve the zealous support of our 
Preachers and friends ; but that in order to secure and 
perpetuate the full religious benefit which such Institutions 
are capable of affording, it is essentially necessary that they 
should be connected as closely as possible vrith the Church 
of Christ; and that the School hours should be so arranged 
as not to interfere, more than is absolutely unavoidable, 
with the punctual attendance, both of teachers and children, 
on those ordinances of public worship which are appointed 
by God. The Conference, therefore, directs the re-publica- 
tion of the following Minutes made in 1808 ; viz. 

" 1. Let all the Travelling Preachers, where Sunday 
Schools are established, be members of the Committees of 
those Schools which belong to us ; and let the Super- 
intendent preside in their meetings. 

"2. As many of the children as can possibly be accom- 
modated with room, ought invariably to attend our public 
worship, at least once on every Lord's-day." 1820. 

III. We cordially approve of the exertions of many of 
our people, in instructing the Children of the Poor in 
Sunday Schools ; and we are desirous that such exertions 
should be continued, and that this system of instruction 
should become more general and extensive. At the same 
time, we strongly urge it on our friends who are engaged in 
that good work, to have respect, in an especial manner, to 
the spiritual good of the children. All the Managers and 

Ceachers should consider the eternal salvation of the 
children as their grand object in those Institutions ; and 
should be careful that every part of the instruction given 
to them is such as may, through the blessing of God, lead 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 247 

them to the knowledge of the Saviour, and finally to eternal 
glory. We must also strongly urge the attendance of the 
children at public worship on the Lord's-day, in order that 
they may be trained up in a love of the regular ordinances 
of God's house, which we consider as essential in the 
Christian Church. 1822. 

IV. We advise all our Friends mildly, but steadily, to 
discontinue the plan of teaching the art of Writing on the 
Lord's-day, to the Children of Sunday Schools, as one 
which has an injurious effect both on Teachers and Scholars ; 
occupies a considerable portion of the Lord's-day, that 
might be more profitably employed in catechetical and other 
religious instruction ; and, being wholly secular in its direct 
object and tendency, is, in our judgment, an unjustifiable 
infringement of the sanctity of the Sabbath. (N. B. This 
Minute was passed by an unanimous Vote of the Confer- 
ence.) 1823. 

V. Q. Various urgent applications having been made 
from time to time, by respectable Friends connected with 
Methodist Sunday Schools, or desirous of establishing such 
Schools in their respective neighbourhoods, with a view to 
obtain the deliberate advice and opinion of the Conference 
as to the General Rules and Principles on which these 
Institutions may be best conducted ; — Can any further 
measures be now adopted, in order to satisfy the minds of 
our People on that subject? 

A. 1 . We agree fully to confirm and renew all our exist- 
ing Rules and Recommendations in reference to our Sun- 
day Schools ; particularly as to the regular attendance of 
Teachers and Scholars on the public ordinances of God's 
House,— the obligation of diligent catechetical instruction, 
the importance of caution in the selection of Officers and of 
Teachers, — the duty of discountenancing the practice of 
teaching on the Lord's-day the art of writing, and the 
necessity of recognising, in all Methodist Schools, the 
Superintendent-Preacher, and his Colleagues in the Pastoral 
Office, as Members of the Managing Committees, and as 
ex-qfficio entitled to preside in their Meetings. These 
Rules all appear to result from the great and indispensable 
principle, that " Sunday Schools ought to be strictly and 
entirely Religious Institutions," and " should be connected 
as closely as possible with the Church of Christ." (See 
Minutes of Conference, Vol. V. p. 64, 14/, 148, 346, 429.) 

2. In order to meet the call, made from various quarters, 
for some further exposition of the views of the Conference, 
we now agree to appoint a Committee, who shall be 
instructed to prepare, in the course of the year, a general 
Outline of Rules and Recommendations for the Methodist 



248 THE SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

Sunday Schools, throughout the Connexion ; the object of 
which shall be, without entering into those minuHte of mere 
school business, which are best left to the direction of Local 
Committees, to secure a practical attention to the general 
principles above specified. To this Outline, when sanc- 
tioned by the Conference, all new Schools, to be hereafter 
established in our Connexion, may reasonably be expected. 
to conform. And it is hoped, that those Schools, already 
existing, which claim a relation to Methodism, and are 
supported in part by Collections made in our Chapels, will 
be induced, as speedily as possible, to adopt the same leading 
principles, and to walk by the same general rules. 

3. The Conference take this opportunity of repeating 
their deep and steadfast conviction, that well-conducted 
Sunday Schools are of the greatest utility and importance, 
and deserve the zealous support of our Preachers and 
People. The Preachers, in particular, are directed to afford 
to the Methodist Sunday Schools, established in their 
respective Circuits, and managed in conformity to our 
authorised principles, all possible countenance and assist- 
ance, by attending their Committees, by occasionally visit- 
ing the Schools, by giving counsel and advice to the 
Teachers, and by recommending the Institutions to the 
increasing liberality of our Societies and Congregations. 
Methodist Sunday Schools, wisely and scripturally regu- 
lated, constitute a highly interesting and beneficial depart- 
ment of that great Work which God has been pleased to 
confide to our pastoral care ; and ought therefore to com- 
mand the attention, protection, and co-operation of every 
Methodist Preacher. 1826. 

VI. Q. What is the judgment of the Conference as to 
the proper mode of conducting our numerous Sunday- 
schools ? 

A. 1. Incompliance with "various urgent applications 
from respectable friends, connected with Methodist Sun- 
day-schools, or desirous of establishing such schools in 
their respective neighbourhoods," it was last year deter- 
mined, not only " to confirm and renew all our existing 
rules and recommendations" on the subject, (for a sum- 
mary of which, see No. V.) but also to appoint a special 
Committee for the purpose of preparing a general plan for 
the management of these important institutions. 

2. That Committee, consisting of our late President 
(Mr. Watson), our Secretary (Mr. Bunting), Mr. George 
Marsden, and Mr. Robert Newton, now report to the 
Conference, that they met in Manchester, according to 
appointment, and after much deliberation, and due atten- 
tion to the communications addressed to them from various 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 249 

quarters, unanimously agreed to recommend to the Con- 
ference the adoption of the following principles and rules : 
viz. — 

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

First principle. — Sunday-schools should be strictly and 
entirely religious institutions ; and ought therefore to be 
schools for the Christian instruction and education of the 
children of the poor ; as it is only on this ground that the 
occupation of the Lord's-day in tuition can be held to con- 
sist with the due observation of the Christian Sabbath. 

Second principle. — Schools designed for the religious 
education of poor children ought to be conducted in dis- 
tinct and avowed connexion with some particular branch of 
the visible church of Christ. 

1. Because the Pastors, and other official members of a 
Christian church or society, are not left at liberty to com- 
mit the religious education of the children of their oion poorer 
members to any persons, except those for whose character 
and principles they possess some adequate security, and 
over whose modes of instruction and discipline they have 
the means of exercising an efficient influence and control. 
The children of members, and those even of constant 
hearers in the congregation, are, in an important sense, 
the children of the church, and of that portion of it, es- 
pecially, with which their parents stand connected. Many 
of them have been by holy baptism solemnly recognised as 
among the objects of pastoral charge, and as entitled to the 
care and spiritual assistance of Christian people. In all 
such cases, a responsibility attaches to the church and its 
Ministers, which they cannot, without blame, transfer into 
other hands, except under such circumstances as will allow 
them still to observe and to direct, in all points of vital im- 
portance, the manner in which the trust is executed by 
those to whom they confide it. 

2. Because every Christian church or society is not only 
obliged in duty to exert a proper control over the religious 
education of its own youth, but has also a deep and perma- 
nent interest in the results of that education ; and is there- 
fore required, in justice to itself, to retain those Sunday- 
schools which are supported, wholly or principally, by its 
contributions, its labours, or its influence, under the super- 
intendence and scriptural jurisdiction of its Pastors, and of 
its other regular authorities. 

3. Because, in reference to children of every class ad- 
mitted into Sunday-schools, (whether their parents be 
directly connected with any Christian church or not,) those 
who piously and liberally support such institutions have a 

M 2 



250 THE SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

clear right to receive a decisive pledge, in the known Chris- 
tian character and principles of their leading managers, and 
in their connexion with some religious body whose creed is 
avowed before the world, and whose right of superintend- 
ence is expressly recognised, that the influence exerted 
by them upon the opinions and habits of the rising gene- 
ration shall be, as far as human prudence can secure it, a 
sound and salutary one. 

4. Because general experience seems now to have decided in 
favour of the superior advantages of placing every Sunday- 
school under the care of some particular religious community 
which shall be held responsible to the parents of the chil- 
dren educated in it, and to the public who ma} r choose to 
support it, for its sound principles and good management. 
Instructed by that experience, almost every branch of the 
Christian church in this country has now its own Sunday- 
schools j open indeed to all poor children who apply ; but 
conducted chiefly by its own members ; superintended by 
its own Ministers, and other ecclesiastical officers ; go- 
verned according to its own peculiar views of the funda- 
mental doctrines and duties of Christianity ; and connected 
generally with its own places of worship. Thus the labour 
of religiously educating the poor is amicably divided, and, 
for that reason, better performed : and sufficient scope is 
left for the exercise of a truly Christian liberality, in the 
interchange of mutual good offices, and in the occasional 
aids affordeded by the affluent of one body to the funds of 
others ; while no temptation is in any case held out to a 
compromise of principle, and the danger of practical colli- 
sion or controversy, among persons of different sentiments, 
is in a great measure precluded. 

Third principle. — Sunday-schools should be most con- 
scientiously and anxiously so conducted, that they may 
not interfere farther than an invincible necessity may com- 
pel, with the primary and universal duties of the holy 
Sabbath, and, in particular, with the constant attendance 
of teachers and children on the public worship of God's 
house, at the hours most generally devoted to that pur- 
pose, and best adapted to secure their edification : — 

1. Because one essential part of a truly Christian educa- 
tion must ever consist in the formation of an early and fixed 
habit of reverence for the Christian Sabbath, and of regard 
for the ordinances of the Christian sanctuary. 

2. Because those who act as teachers in these schools, in 
common with all other persons, are under an immutable 
obligation to attend with regularity the public means of 
grace, and to pay their vows to God in the presence of all 
his people. They actually need, for themselves, all the 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 251 

help and instruction provided for them in the house of 
God ; from which, as experience has often proved, they can- 
not be frequently and needlessly detained, even by the well- 
meant endeavour to serve the souls of others, without great 
danger of weakening in their own minds the proper tone of 
Christian feeling, and of suffering (especially if they be 
young in years and in religious profession) a spiritual loss, 
most prejudicial in the issue to their piety, and to their 
general usefulness in the church of Christ. 

Fourth principle. — On the same ground of vigilant con- 
cern for the best interests both of children and of their 
teachers, the bustle and the secularity of mere school-busi- 
ness should be as much as possible avoided in the manage- 
ment of Sunday schools ; and the spiritual objects and 
character of the institutions should be so carefully kept in 
mind, as to regulate and control the whole plan and pro- 
cess of Sabbath -education. 

In conformity to these principles the following out- 
line of 

II. GENERAL RULES 

has been drawn up, with a direct reference to the circum- 
stances of Methodist Sunday-schools : viz. — 

1. Sunday-schools supported, wholly or principally, by 
the contributions, labours, and influence of our body, and 
sanctioned by our Preachers, shall be denominated Wes- 
ley an-Methodist Sunday-schools;— in order that the Con- 
nexion and the public may possess, in the very name and 
title of the institutions, the means of ascertaining the prin- 
ciples on which they profess to be conducted, and a pledge 
and security for the maintenance of those principles, under 
every change of local management ; and in order, also, that 
parents, not connected with our societies and congregations, 
who shall choose to send their children to our schools, may 
be fully apprised of the nature and tendency of the instruc- 
tion and discipline there administered. 

2. The general management of such schools shall be en- 
trusted to a Committee, consisting, 

(1. Of all the Travelling Preachers of the Circuit. 

(2.) Of all the officers of the school or schools ; appointed 
as hereinafter mentioned. 

(3.) Of twelve, sixteen, twenty, twenty-four, or thirty-six 
other persons (the number being determined according to 
local circumstances), to be appointed by the annual meet- 
ing of the subscribers ; but of this number, — 

One-fourth shall always be selected from those teachers 
in the schools, who are also members of the Methodist So- 
ciety: 



252 THE SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

One-half shall be chosen from the general body of sub- 
scribers, being also members of the Methodist Society : — 
and 

The remaining one-fourth shall be selected from those 
respectable members of onr congregations, or other sub- 
scribers, who, though not of our Society, are believed to 
agree with us in their general views of the great and lead- 
ing doctrines of Christianity. 

3. The Superintendent Preacher of the Circuit, as the 
chief Pastor of our Societies, and the official representative 
of Methodism in the Circuit where he is stationed, shall 
preside in all meetings of the Subscribers and of the Com- 
mittee at which he may be present. In his absence, his 
place shall be supplied by one of the other Preachers ; or, 
if no Preacher be present, by some other officer of the 
institution appointed for that purpose by the persons as- 
sembled. 

4. The officers of these institutions shall be as follows : 
viz. — 

(1.) A Treasurer and three Auditors j to be annually ap- 
pointed by the General Meeting of the Subscribers. 

(2.) One or more General Secretaries j to be annually ap- 
pointed by the Committee. 

(3.) Two or more General Visiters, (in addition to the 
Ministers of the Circuit,) who shall frequently inspect the 
schools, and report to the Committee the result of their 
observations ; to be appointed annually by the Committee. 

(4.) Two or more Conductors, or Local Superintendents, 
and also one or more Local Secretaries, for each school ; to 
be annually appointed by the Committee. 

N. B. The officers of the Institution, for the time being, 
(as well as the Circuit-Preachers,) shall be considered as 
having a right to attend and vote at the Annual Meeting, 
in common with the subscribers at large. 

5. All the officers, with the exception of the Treasurer 
and Auditors, shall be selected exclusively from the mem- 
bers of the Methodist Society ; and, before their final ap- 
pointment, shall be proposed and approved in the Leaders'- 
Meeting of the Society to which each school shall be at- 
tached, as persons deemed eligible, in point of general 
religious character, to be put in nomination at the Meeting 
by which the election is to be made. 

6. The teachers shall be appointed by the Conductors or 
Local Superintendents of each school ; subject, however, 
to the subsequent approbation of the Committee, if, in any 
instance, they deem it necessary to interpose their authority. 
And no person shall be continued in office as a teacher, 
who shall at any time be declared by the Committee, or by 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 253 

the Leaders'-Meeting, ineligible in point of general cha- 
racter, or of religious opinions, to take a part in the Chris- 
tian education of the children placed under our care. In 
the selection of teachers for the elder classes, peculiar at- 
tention should be paid to their Christian experience; and 
those only should be so employed, who are able to teach 
their pupils, clearly and fully, " what they must do to be 
saved." 

7- As it is the great and primary object of Sunday-schools 
to teach the children of the poor to read and understand 
the holy Scriptures, with a view to their being made " wise 
unto salvation, " the elementary books employed in the 
tuition even of the younger scholars shall be such as con- 
tain the largest portion of scriptural instruction j and the 
Bible or New Testament shall be regularly used every 
Sabbath-day by those classes which are farther advanced. 

8. Catechetical Exercises shall form a regular part of the 
system of our schools. And, in order to prevent the evils 
which might result from an unlimited private discretion in 
the selection of Catechisms, it is earnestly recommended 
that the Catechisms employed shall be those compiled and 
published under the sanction of the Conference, in which 
are embodied the most important portions of Mr. Wesley's 
Instructions, of the Church of England's Catechism, of 
the Assembly's, and of Dr. Watts's. For the same reason, 
we recommend to our schools the uniform adoption, as 
soon as it can be made convenient, either of the Large 
Hymn-Book generally used in our Chapels, or of the Me- 
thodist Sunday-school Hymn-Book recently published. 

9. Neither the art of writing, nor any other merely se- 
cular branch of knowledge, shall be taught on the Lord's- 
day. But we strongly recommend that writing, and the 
elements of arithmetic, shall be taught to the elder scholars, 
both male and female, on one or more week-day evenings, 
as a reward for their regular attendance and good conduct 
on the Sabbath. 

10. Where Sunday-school libraries are instituted, no 
book shall on any account be admitted without the previous 
approbation of the Committee. The distribution of books 
shall take place, wherever it is practicable, on some week- 
day evening, so as not to occasion, either to the librarian 
or the readers, an unnecessary and injurious diversion of 
any portion of the Sabbath from employments directly 
spiritual. And we recommend, where there are more 
schools than one in the same town, the plan of one central 
library, accessible at suitable hours to those persons con- 
nected with each school, who shall be duly furnished with 
tickets by their respective Conductors or local Superin- 



254 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 

tendents, as likely in most cases to be most judiciously 
managed, and to afford a greater variety of suitable books, 
and therefore much to be preferred to the plan of separate 
libraries for every such school. 

11. No sales of Books, or of other articles used in the 
schools, shall on any account be suffered to take place on 
the Lord's-day; but suitable facilities for the supply of 
the scholars shall be afforded on week-day evenings. "The 
profaning the day of the Lord by buying or selling" is a 
sin explicitly prohibited by the standing " Rules of the 
Methodist Society ;" and ought not to be tolerated in any 
Methodist institution. 

12. The Meetings of the Committee, for purposes of ordi- 
nary business, shall not be held on the Lord's-day. And 
the Teachers'' Meetings, if unavoidably held on that day, 
shall be fixed for such hours as will not prevent those who 
belong to our body from regularly attending on our public 
worship, on our Society-Meetings, or at the administration 
of the Lord's Supper. 

13. All the children of our schools shall be trained up in 
the habit of a regular and invariable attendance on public 
worship, at least once on every Lord's-day. "Wherever they 
can be accommodated with room, we strongly, and for 
many reasons, recommend their attendance at the house 
of God, with their teachers, in the forenoon especially of 
every Sabbath ; and the elder classes should be advised 
and encouraged to hear the word of God in the evening 
also, where we have an evening service. We ear- 
nestly entreat our friends, who may be concerned in the 
future erection or enlargement of chapels, to have this 
object in view, as one of unspeakable importance to the 
interests of religion and of our country ; and to include 
in their plans the provision of large and convenient ac- 
commodation, not only for the adult poor, but for their 
children also. 

14. Where separate buildings shall be erected for Sun- 
day-schools, by the contributions or influence of our mem- 
bers and friends, they shall be legally secured for the purposes 
which they are intended to serve. And we recommend, as 
the best general method of accomplishing this object, that 
the Trustees of the nearest chapel, in the Circuit to which 
the school may belong, shall also be constituted the Trus- 
tees for the School, under suitable provisions and regula- 
tions. This plan, without at all interfering with the internal 
management of the school on the principles and rules 
above-mentioned, would sufficiently connect our schools 
with our chapels ; and would afford to th« Trustees of 
chapels that safeguard against possible injury to their 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 255 

trust- concerns, which their pecuniary liabilities give them 
a just right to expect from their Christian brethren of the 
same community. 

15. To all Methodist Sunday-schools established in their 
respective Circuits, on the principles maintained in this 
Plan, and governed, substantially and generally, according 
to the preceding Rules and Regulations, our Preachers are 
directed to afford all possible countenance and assistance ; 
by occasionally visiting the schools ; by giving counsel and 
advice to the teachers, parents, and children ; by earnestly 
recommending such institutions to the prayers, and to the 
pecuniary support, of our societies and congregations ; and 
by so arranging their Circuit-Plans, as to afford themselves 
the opportunity of attending at all the principal meetings 
of the Committees and of the Subscribers. 

3. The Conference, having received the preceding Report 
of their Committee unanimously resolve, 

CI.) That the cordial thanks of the Conference are due 
to Messrs. Watson, Marsden, Newton, and Bunting, for 
the Plan which has now been read. 

(2.) That the Conference entirely approve of the general 
principles, respecting Sunday-schools, which form the basis 
of that Plan, and which have, in substance, been repeatedly 
recognised in the Minutes of former years. 

(3.) That the Conference also approves of the general 
rules and recommendations contained in the Plan now sub- 
mitted ; and adopts them, as expressive of those views and 
sentiments, in reference to the management of the Metho- 
dist Sunday-schools, which they feel it their duty as a body 
of Christian ministers to maintain, and by all suitable means 
to promote among the people of their charge. 

(4.) That all new Sunday-schools which may hereafter be 
established in our Connexion, and which shall have the 
support and sanction of our Preachers, or the aid of regular 
collections in our Chapels, shall be established in conformity 
to the principles now explicitly adopted by the Conference ; 
and that the rules and recommendations hereinbefore con- 
tained (subject to such modification on minor points, not 
interfering with the fundamental principles of this Plan, as 
further consideration and experience may suggest, or as 
local peculiarities may render necessary), shall be con- 
sidered as the outline of that approved and authorised 
system, by which all new institutions among us are to be 
governed. 

(5.) That the Conference also deems it right and expe- 
dient not to withhold the affectionate expression of their 
most earnest hope and expectation, that the managers of 
those Sunday-schools already existing, which claim any re- 



256 WEEK-DAY SCHOOLS. 

lation to Methodism, and are carried on by the labours and 
the influence of our people, or supported in part by collec- 
tions made in our chapels (if they have not fully done it 
already), will be induced to adopt as soon as possible the 
same leading principles, and to walk by the same general 
rules 1827. 



IV. WEEK-DAY SCHOOLS. 

Q. What are the sentiments of the Conference with re- 
gard to the formation of week-day schools, in connexion 
with our societies ? 

A. The Conference has heard with satisfaction of the 
formation of week-day schools in immediate connexion 
with some of our Societies, and recommends their esta- 
blishment wherever the means of supporting them can 
be obtained, — as such institutions, when constructed on 
strictly Wesleyan principles, and placed under an efficient 
spiritual control, cannot fail to promote those high and 
holy ends for which we exist as a religious community. 
1833. 



257 

V. THE TRACT SOCIETY.* 

I. The distribution of Religious Tracts, having, in many 
instances, been followed by the most beneficial results, the 
Conference recommends it to the Preachers and to our 
people in general, to form Associations, in the different 
Circuits, for a regular and systematic circulation of Tracts, 
especially of those written by Mr. Wesley, in the way of 
loan and otherwise, as may be deemed expedient. 1821. 

II. The circulation of Religious Tracts has also, through 
the blessing of God, been productive of much good ; and 
we cannot too strongly urge it on our people, wherever it is 
at all practicable, to adopt a regular plan of distribution, 
by lending Tracts from, house to house, and to endeavour 
in the -most extensive manner to disseminate the knowledge 
of divine truth. The enemies of religion and of social order 
have been actively employed in spreading the poison of 
immorality and infidelity ; and we are desirous that our 
friends, in every part of the kingdom, should zealously 
counteract the leaven of evil, by carrying the doctrines of 
the Gospel into all the habitations of ungodliness, and 
labouring to rescue from the dominion of darkness those 
who have been led captive by the devil at his will. If the 
Sermons of Mr. Wesley, and those Religious Tracts which 
are most weighty and impressive, be widely circulated, we 
have no doubt they will be the instruments of leading mul- 
titudes of souls to an eternity of happiness. 1822. 

III. Q. What is the judgment of the Conference relative 
to the Circulation of Religious Tracts ? 

A. We have heard with much satisfaction of the suc- 
cessful exertions of our Societies in various parts of the 
kingdom, in distributing religious Tracts, especially amongst 
those who are either destitute of the ordinary means of 
scriptural instruction, or neglect to improve those means ; 
and in order that this plan of Christian benevolence and. 
usefulness may be carried into more extensive operation, 
we resolve ; 

1. That a General Tract Committee shall be formed, con- 
sisting of the President and Secretary for the time being, 
five Preachers and five Gentlemen in London, and an equal 
number of each class in the Country ; who shall correspond 
with the existing local Tract-Societies in our Connexion; 

* The first mention by Mr. Wesley of a Tract Society occurs in his 
journal, June 21, 1747. Prior to that period, however, he wrote se- 
veral tracts for distribution. In 1794, Dr. Coke set on foot a Religious 
Tract Society, and, with the approbation of the Conference, enlarged 
the number of tracts, and promoted subscriptions to defray the expenses 
attending the Institution. 



258 THE TRACT SOCIETY. 

assist them in procuring trie most useful Tracts at the 
cheapest rate ; and afford them such general information 
and help as may be in their power. 

2. That the^ Preachers of the Three* London Circuits be 
appointed a Committee, to prepare and publish, as soon as 
possible, a system of Rules for the direction of the Tract- 
Committee, on those general principles contained in an 
Outline which has now been submitted to the Conference, 
and has received its approbation. 1822. 

* At the time this Minute was agreed to, there were only three Cir- 
cuits in London ; there are now six. 



END OF THE DIGEST. 



APPENDIX. 



ftppetftfr* 



A STATEMENT OF THE PRINCIPAL DOC- 
TRINES OF WESLEYAN METHODISM. 

It is intended in this Statement neither to present in detail all the 
Doctrines of Revelation which are believed by the Methodists, nor all 
those which they believe in common with Christians in general, nor those 
only which may be thought to be peculiar to themselves ; but to state 
those which have always had a special prominence amongst them, on 
account of the great importance which they deem them to have in the 
conversion of sinners, and the edification of believers. These Doctrines, 
as they were frequent subjects of investigation in the early days of Metho- 
dism, either as having been misunderstood and opposed by other Deno- 
minations of Christians, or by individuals among themselves who differed 
in opinion, they consider as having been long ago sufficiently established. 

All, therefore, which may be necessary for the present design, is to 
place these Doctrines in such an order, and in such language as is autho- 
rised by the Body. This it is thought may be most satisfactorily and ac- 
ceptably done, by collecting the decisions to which it has come in its 
most solemn deliberations, or by giving such statements as occur in the 
writings of its venerable Founder. To render the authority on which 
the following compendium rests, unexceptionable, the Doctrines which 
are here treated of are presented in the very words in which they are 
found in the standard writings of Methodism — words which length of 
time and the usage of the Body have consecrated. For the sake of au- 
thority, the places whence they are derived are referred to in the margin. 

The sacred Scriptures, and these only, are the test to which all the 
Doctrines of Methodism are submitted, and by such an interpretation as 
is perhaps most conveniently expressed by the term orthodox — i. e. such 
as is for the most part found in the Articles and Homilies of the Church 
of England ; from which, indeed, almost all of them are derived. 



I. ORIGINAL SIN. 

" Original sin is the corruption of the nature of every man, whereby 
man is in his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lustefh con- 
trary to the Spirit. And this infection of nature doth remain, even in 
them that are regenerated ; whereby the lust of the flesh, called in Greek 
$poirf]fia aagKbs, is not subject to the law of God. And although there 
is no condemnation for them that believe, yet this lust hath of itself the 
nature of sin."* The extent of the fall, the astonishing spread of original 
corruption is such, that by nature, among the thousands and millions of 

* Wesley's Works, vol. vii. p. 173. 



262 DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. 

the human race, there is none righteous, no not one.* The consequence 
of original sin was, that man incurred death of every kind, not only tem- 
poral, hut also spiritual and eternal. By losing his original righteous- 
ness, he became not only mortal as to his body, but also spiritually dead, 
dead to God, dead in sin: void of that principle which St. Paul terins 
" the life of God.""h " By one man's disobedience, all men were consti- 
tuted sinners ;" " in Adam all died," spiritually died, lost the life and 
image of God: that fallen, sinful Adam then "begat a son in his own 
likeness:" nor was it possible he should beget him in any other; for 
" who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ?" That consequently 
we, as well as other men, " were, by nature, dead in trespasses and sins, 
without hope, without G od in the world," and therefore " children of 
wrath;" that every man may say, " I was shapen in wickedness, aud in 
sin did my mother conceive me:" that " there is no difference, in that all 
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God :" of that glorious image 
of God, wherein man was originally created. And hence, when " the 
Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, he saw they 
were all gone out of the way, they were altogether become abominable, 
there was none righteous, no, not one ;" none that truly sought after- 
God : just agreeable to this, is what is declared by the Holy Ghost j 
" God saw," when he looked down from heaven, " that the wickedness of 
man was great in the earth !" so great, " that every imagination of the 
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." This is God's account 
of man. "J 

It remains then, that the only true and rational way of accounting for 
the general wickedness of mankind, in all ages and nations, is pointed 
out in these words. In Adam all die. In and through their first parent, 
all his posterity died in a spiritual sense ; and they remain wholly ' dead 
in trespasses and sins,' till the second Adam makes them alive. By this 
' one man, sin entered into the world and passed upon all men.' And 
through the infection which they derive from him, all men are and ever 
were by nature entirety ' alienated from the life of God, without hope, 
without God in the world.' § 



II. GENERAL REDEMPTION. 

That Christ died for all men appears from the following testimonies 
of the Scriptures. First, the Prophet Isaiah saith, " Surely he hath 
bome our griefs, and carried our sorrows ; yet did we esteem him 
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for 
our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement 
of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we 
like sheep, have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own 
way ; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 
liii. 4 — 6.) Thus Isaiah shows plainly, that the iniquities of all those 
who went astray w r ere laid upon Christ. And to him the testimony of all 
the other prophets agrees : " To him gave all the prophets witness, 
that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission 
of sins." (Acts x. 43.) The same saith that great prophet John the 
Baptist, who " came to bear witness of the light, that all men through it 
might believe." (John i. 7.) And again, " Behold," saith he, " the 
Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world." (ver. 29.) Thus 
have all the prophets with one consent testified, that God " laid upon 
Christ the iniquities of all that were gone astray ;" that he is " the Lamb 
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world ;" that " all men through 

* Wesley's Works, vol. ix. p. 218. + Vol. xiv. p.2Gl. 

J Vol. vii. p. 280. § Vol. xiv. p. 76. 



' 



DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. 263 

him may believe ;" and that " through his name whosoever believeth. in 
him, shall receive remission of sins." 

Secondly, the angel of God testified the same thing, saying, " Fear not ; 
for I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people," 
which were, that there was " born unto them a Saviour, even Christ the 
Lord." (Luke ii. 10.) By this also it appears, that Christ died for all 
men. For else it could not have been glad tidings of great joy, to all 
people ; but rather sad tidings to all those for whom he died not. 

Thirdly, we come now to the words of Christ himself, and therefore, if 
his testimony agrees with these, we must needs be convinced that they 
are true. Now he speaks thus, " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the 
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God so 
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God 
sent not his Son to condemn the world, but that the world through him 
might be saved." (John iii. 14, &c.) Thus we see the words of Christ 
agree with the words of the prophets ; therefore it must needs be owned 
that Christ died for all. 

Fourthly, And now we will hear what the Apostles say concerning this 
thing, " The love of Christ," saith the Apostle Paul, " constraineth us, 
because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; and 
he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto them 
selves, but unto him that died for them, and rose again." (2 Cor. v. 14, 
&c.) And to Timothy he saith, " There is one God, and one Mediator 
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom 
for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Tim. ii. 5, 6.) Again, he saith to 
Titus, " The grace of God, which bringeth salvation to all men, hath ap- 
peared." (Tit. ii. 11.) And yet again to the Hebrews, " That he, by 
the grace of God, should taste death for every man." (Heb. ii.9.) And 
to this agreeth St. John, witnessing, " He is the propitiation for our sins, 
and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 
ii. 3.) And again, speaking of himself and the rest of the Apostles, he 
saith, " We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be 
the Saviour of the world." (1 John iv. 14.) Thus we have the testi- 
mony of all the Prophets, of the angel of God, of Christ himself, and of 
his holy Apostles, all agreeing together in one, to prove, that Christ died 
for all mankind. 

Additional reasons to prove the same point. — Because there is not one 
Scripture, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, that 
denies it, either negatively, by saying, that he did not die for all; or af- 
firmatively, by saying, that he died only for some. — Because he himself 
commanded, that the Gospel should be preached to every creature. — Be- 
cause he calleth all men every ivhere to repent. — Because those who perish 
are damned for not believing in the name of the only -bey otten Son of God, 
therefore he must have died for them. Else they would be damned for 
not believing a lie. — Because they which are damned might have been 
saved. For thus saith the word of God, " They received not the love of 
the truth that they might be saved. Therefore God shall send them 
strong delusions, to believe a lie, that they all may be damned." (2 Thess. 
ii. 10.) — Because some " deny the Lord that bought them, and bring 
upon themselves swift destruction." But they could not deny the Lord 
that bought them, if he had not bought them at all. 

Absurdities that follow from the opinion, that Christ died only for the 
elect.— It Christ died not for all, then unbelief is no sin in them that 
perish ; seeing there is not any thing for those men to believe unto salva- 
tion, for whom Christ died not. — If Christ died not for all men, then it 
would be a sin in the greatest part of mankind to believe he died for 



264 DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. 

them ; seeing it would be to believe a lie. — If Christ died not for those 
that are damned, then they are not damned for unbelief. Otherwise, you 
say, that they are damned for not believing a lie. — If Christ died not for 
all, then those who obey Christ, by going and preaching the Gospel to 
every creature, as glad tidings of grace and peace, of great joy to all 
people, do sin thereby, in that they go to most people with a lie in their 
month. — If Christ died not for all men, then God is nol in earnest in 
calling " all men every where to repent ;"' for what good could repentance 
do those for whom Christ died not? — If Christ died not for all, then why 
does he say, " He is not willing that any should perish?" Surely he is 
willing, yea resolved, that most men should perish ; else he would have 
died for them also.— How shall " God judge the world by the man Christ 
Jesus," if Christ did not die for the world? Or how shall he judge them 
according to the Gospel, when there was never anv Gospel or mercy for 
them?* 

III. REPENTANCE. 

Repentance, and fruits meet for repentance, go before faith. Repent- 
ance absolutely must go before faith : fruits meet for it, if there be oppor- 
tunity. 

By Repentance is meant conviction of sin, or self-knowledge : That our 
inmost nature is corrupt, and very fur gone from original righteousness, 
whereby "the flesh lustefu'' always " contrary to the Spirit,'' through 
that " carnal mind which is enmity against God," which "is not subject 
to the law of God, neither indeed can be." That we are corrupt in every 
power, in every faculty of our soul ; that we are totally corrupted in 
every one of them, all the foundations being out of course. The eyes of 
our understanding are darkened, so that we cannot discern God, or the 
things of God. The clouds of ignorance and error rest upon us, and 
cover us with the shadow of death. We know nothing yet, as we ought 
to know, neither God, nor the world, nor ourselves. Our will is no longer 
the will of God, but is utterly perverse and distorted, averse from all good, 
from all which God loves, and prone to all evil, to every a Domination 
which God hateth. Our affections are alienated from God, and scattered 
abroad over all the earth All our passions, both our desires and aver- 
sions, our joys and sorrows, our hopes and fears, are out of frame, are 
either undue in their degree, or placed on undue objects. So that there 
is no soundness in our soul ; but " from the crown of the head, to the sole 
of the foot," (to use the strong expression of the Prophet,) there are only 
" wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores." 

From this evil root springs unbelief, ever departing from the living 
God : saying, " Who is the Lord, that I should serve him ? Tush ! 
Thou God, carest not for it." Hence independence, affecting to be like 
the Most High : hence pride in all its forms, teaching us to say, " I am 
rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing." From this evil 
fountain, flow forth the hitter streams of vanity, thirst of praise ; ambition, 
covetousness ; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of 
life. From this arise anger, hatred, malice, revenge, envy, jealousy, evil 
surmisings : from this, all the foolish and hurtful lusts, that now "pierce 
us through with many sorrows," and, if not timely prevented, will at 
length " drown our soul in everlasting perdition " 

On such branches as these can grow only such fruits as are bitter and 
evil continually. Of pride cometh contention, vain boasting, seeking and 
receiving praise of men, and so robbing God of that glory which he can- 
not give unto another. Of the lust of the flesh, come gluttony or drunk- 
enness, luxury or sensuality ; fornication, uncleanness, variously defiling 

* Wesley's Works, Vol. xiv. p. 338—394. 



DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. 265 

the body, which was designed for a temple of the Holy Ghost : of un- 
belief, every evil word and work. Time would fail to reckon up all : all 
the idle words we have spoken, piwoking the Most High, grieving the 
Holy One of Israel ; all the evil works we have done, either wholly evil 
in themselves, or at least, not done to the glory of God. Our actual sins 
are more than we are able to express, more than the hairs of our head. 
Who can number the sands of the sea, or the drops of rain, or our iniquities? 

To a lively conviction of our inward and outward sins, of our utter 
guiltiness and helplessness, must be added suitable affections : sorrow of 
heart, for having despised our own mercies, remorse, and self-condemna- 
tion, having our mouth stopped, shame to lift up our eyes to heaven : fear 
of the wrath of God abiding on us, of his curse hanging over our head, 
and of the fiery indignation ready to devour those who forget God, and 
obey not our Lord Jesus Cbrist: earnest desire to escape from that indig- 
nation, to cease from evil, and learn to do well : for, 

Fruits meet for repentance are included in this grace; such are, for- 
giving our brother. (Matt. vi. 14, 15); ceasing from evil (Luke hi. 4, 9, 
&c); doing good, using the ordinances of God (Matt. vh. 7); and, in 
general, obeying him according to the measure of grace which we have 
received (Matt, xxv 29.)* 



IV. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

Justification is another word for pardon. It is the forgiveness of all 
our sins, and, what is necessarily implied therein, our acceptance with 
God. The price whereby this hath been procured for us, (commonly 
termed the meritorious cause of our justification) is the blood and right- 
eousness of Christ; or, to express it a little more clearly, all that Christ 
hath done and suffered for us, till he " poured out his soul for the trans- 
gressors." The immediate effects of justification are, the peace of God, 
a " peace which passeth all understanding," and a " rejoicing in hope of 
the glory of God, with joy unspeakable and full of glory." 

And at the same time that we are justified, yea, in that very moment, 
sanctification begins. In that instant, we are "born again, born from 
above, born of the Spirit." This is a real as well as a relative change. 
We are inwardly renewed by the power of God. We feel " the love of 
God shed abroad in our heart, by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us," 
producing love to all mankiud, and more especially to the children of 
God : expelling the love of the world, the love of pleasure, of ease, of 
honour, of money ; together with pride, anger, self-will, and every other 
evil temper ; in a word, changing the earthly, sensual, devilish mind, into 
*' the mind which was in Christ Jesus. "t 

Three things must go together in our justification : upon God's part, 
his great mercy and grace ; upon Christ's part, the satisfaction of God's 
justice, by the offering of his body, and shedding his blood, and fulfilling 
the law of God perfectly; and upon our part, true and liviug faith in the 
merits of Jesus Christ. So that in our justification, there is not only 
God's mercy and grace, but his justice also. And so the grace of God 
does not shut out the righteousness of God in our justification, but 
only shuts out the righteousness of man, that is, the righteousness of 
our works. 

And therefore St. Paul requires nothing on the part of man, but only 
a true and living faith. Yet this faith does not shut out repentance, hope, 
and love, which are joined with faith in every man that is justified. But 

* Wes'e/s Works, vol. vii. p. 96, 97, 99; vol, xii. p. 48. 
t Vol. vii. p. 3(8. 



266 DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. 

it shuts them out from the office of justifying. So that although they are 
all present together in him that is justified, yet they justify not alto- 
gether. Neither does faith shut out good works, necessarily to he done 
afterwards. But we may not do them to this intent, To be justified by 
doing them. Our justification comes freely, of the mere mercy of God. 
For whereas all the world was not able to pay any part towards their 
ransom, it pleased him, without any of our deserving, to prepare for us 
Christ's body and blood, whereby our ransom might be paid, his law ful- 
filled, and his justice satisfied. Christ therefore is now the righteousness 
of all them that truly believe in him. He for them paid the ransom by 
his death. He for them fulfilled the law in his life. So that now in him, 
and by him, every believer may be called a fulfiller of the law. 

But let it be observed, the true sense of those words, " We are jus- 
tified by faith in Christ only," is not, that this our own act, To believe in 
Christ, or this our faith which is within us, justifies us, (for that were, to 
account ourselves to be justified by some act or virtue that is within us :) 
hut that although we have faith, hope, and love within us, and do ever so 
many good works, yet we must renounce the merit of all, of faith, hope, 
love, and all other virtues and good works, which we either have done, 
shall do, or can do, as far too weak to deserve our jusiification : for which 
therefore we must trust only in God's mercy, and the merits of Christ. 
For it is he alone that taketh away our sins. To him alone are we to go 
for this ; forsaking all our virtues, good words, thoughts, and works, and 
putting our trust in Christ only. 

In strictness, therefore, neither our faith nor our works justify us, i. e., 
deserve the remission of our sins. But God himself justifies us, of his 
own mercy, through the merits of his Son only. Nevertheless, because 
by faith we embrace the promise of God's mercy, and of the remission of 
our sins, therefore the Scripture says, That faith does justify, yea, faith 
without works. And it is all one to say, faith without works, and faith 
alone justifies us, therefore the ancient Fathers from time to time speak 
thus : faith alone justifies us. And we receive faith through the only 
merits of Christ, and not through the merit of any virtue we have, or 
work we do : therefore, in that respect we renounce, as it were again, 
faith, works, and all other virtues. For our corruption through original 
sin is so great, that all our faith, charity, words, and works, cannot merit 
or deserve any part of our justification for us. And therefore we thus 
speak, humbling ourselves before God, and giving Christ all the glory of 
our justification 

But it should also be observed, What that faith is, whereby we are 
justified. Now that faith which brings not forth good works, is not a 
living faith, but a dead and devilish one. For even the devils believe, 
" That Christ was born of a virgin, that he wrought all kind of miracles, 
declaring himself to be very God, that for our sakes he died and rose 
again, and ascended into heaven, and at the end of the world shali come 
again, to judge the quick and the dead.'' This the devils believe, and so 
they believe all that is written in the Old and New Testament. And yet 
still, for all this faith, they are but devils. They remain still in their 
damnable estate, lacking the true christian faith. 

The true christian faith is, not only to believe that the Holy Scriptures 
and the articles of our faith are true, but also to have a sure trust and 
confidence to be saved from everlasting damnation by Christ, whereof 
doth follow a loving heart to obey his commandments. And this faith 
neither any devil hath, nor any wicked man. No ungodly man hath or 
can have this sure trust and confidence in God, that by the merits of 
Christ his sins are forgiven, and he reconciled to the favour of God.* 

* Wesley's Works, vol. xi. pp. 414—416. 



DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. 267 

Justifying faith then implies not only a divine eAeyxos, (evidence or 
conviction) that God was in Christ " reconciling the world unto himself,'' 
but a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for my sins, that he loved 
me and gave himself for me. And the moment a penitent sinner believes 
this, God pardons and absolves him.* 



V. THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 

What is the " Witness or Testimony of God's Spirit," which by St. 
Paul is said to be superadded to and conjoined with " the testimony of 
our own Spirit ? (Rom. viii. 16.) How does he " bear witness with our 
spirit that we are the children of God ?" It is hard to find words in the 
language of men, to explain " the deep things of God." Indeed, there 
are none that will adequately express what the children of God experi- 
ence. But perhaps one might say (desiring any one who are taught of 
God, to correct, to soften, or strengthen the expression), the testimony of 
the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God 
directly " witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God;" that Jesus 
Christ hath loved me, and given himself for me : and that all my sins are 
blotted out, and I — even I am reconciled to God. 

That this " Testimony of the Spirit of God" must needs, in the very 
nature of things, be antecedent to the " Testimony of our own spirit," 
may appear from this single consideration. We must be holy of heart, 
and holy in life, before we can be conscious that we are so ; before we 
can have " the testimony of our spirit," that we are inwardly and out- 
wardly holy. But we must love God, before we can be holy at all ; this 
being the root of all holiness. Now we cannot love God, till we know 
he loves us. " We love him because he first loved us." And we cannot 
know his pardoning love to us, till his Spirit witnesses it to our spirit. 
Since, therefore, this " testimony of his Spirit" must precede the love 
of God and all holiness, of consequence it must precede our inward 
consciousness thereof, or the " testimony of our spirit" concerning them. 

Then, and not till then, when the Spirit of God beareth that witness 
to our spirit, " God hath loved thee, and given his own Son to be the 
propitiation for thy sins; the Son of God hath loved thee, and hath 
washed thee from thy sins in his blood :" " we love God because he 
first loved us," and for his sake we love our brother also. And of this 
we cannot but be conscious to ourselves : " we know the things that are 
freely given to us of God." We know that we love God and keep his 
commandments. And " hereby also we know that we are of God." 
This is that testimony of our own spirit ; which, so long as we continue 
to love God and keep his commandments, continues joined with the testi- 
mony of God's Spirit, " that we are the children of God." 

It is not to be understood by any means, by any thing which has been 
spoken concerning it, to exclude tbe operation of the Spirit of God, even 
from the " testimony of our own spirit." In no wise. It is he that not 
only worketh in us every manner of thing that is good, but also shines 
upon his own work, and clearly shows what he has wrought. Accord- 
ingly, this is spoken of by St. Paul as one great end of our receiving the 
Spirit, " that we may know the things which are freely given to us of 
God :" that he may strengthen the testimony of our conscience, touch- 
ing our " simplicity and godly sincerity," and give us to discern in a 
fuller and stronger light, that we now do the things which please him. 

Should it be inquired, how does the Spirit of God " bear witness with 
our spirit that we are the children of God," so as to exclude all doubt, 
and evidence the reality of our scnship ? The answer is clear, from 

* Wesley's Works, vol. xii. p. 49. 



268 DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. 

what has been observed above. And first, as to the witness of our 
spirit. The soul as intimately and evidently perceives, when it loves, 
delights, and rejoices in God, as when it loves and delights in anything 
on earth. And it can no more doubt whether it loves, delights, and re- 
joices or not, than whether it exists or not. If, therefore, this be just 
reasoning — 

He that now loves God, that delights and rejoices in him, with a 
humble joy, a holy delight, and an obedient love, is a child of God: 

But I thus love, delight, and rejoice in God ; 

Therefore I am a child of God. 

Then a Christian can in no wise doubt of his being a child of God. 
Of the former proposition he has as full an assurance as he has that the 
Scriptures are of God. And of his thus loving God, he has an inward 
proof, which is nothing short of self-evidence. Thus "the testimony of 
our own spirit,'' is with the most intimate conviction manifested to our 
hearts, in such a manner, as beyond all reasonable doubt, to evince the 
reality of our sonship. 

Tlie manner how the divine testimony is manifested to the heart, we do 
not take in hand to explain. Such knowledge is too wonderful and ex- 
cellent for us : we cannot attain unto it. The wind hloweth: we hear 
the sound thereof. But we cannot tell " how it cometh, or whither it 
goeth." As no one knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of a 
man that is in him, so the manner of the things of God knoweth no one, 
save the Spirit of God. But the fact we know — namely, that the Spirit 
of God does give a believer such a testimony of his adoption, that while 
it is present to the soul, he can no more doubt of the reality of his son- 
ship, than he can doubt of the shining of the sun, while he stands in 
the full blaze of his beams.* 



VI. CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

Christian Perfection does not imply (as some men seem to have ima- 
gined), an exemption either from ignorance, or mistake, or infirmities, or 
temptations. Indeed, it is only another term for holiness. They are 
two names for the same thing. Tim?, every one that is holy, is, in the 
Scripture sense, perfect. We may yet observe, that neither in this re- 
spect is there any absolute perfection on earth. There is no perfection 
of degrees, as it is termed ; none which does not admit of a continual in- 
crease. So that how much soever any man has attained, or in how high 
a degree soever he is perfect, he has still need to grow in grace and daily 
to advance in the knowledge and love of God.t But we fix this con- 
clusion, in conformity to the whole tenor of the New Testament, that 
a Christian is so far perfect as not to commit sin. This is the glorious 
privilege of every Christian— yea, though he be but a babe in Christ. 
But it is only of those who are strong in the Lord, " and have overcome 
the wicked one," or rather of those who " have known him that is from 
the beginning," that it can be affirmed they are in such a sense perfect, 
as to be freed from evil thoughts and evil tempers. 

First, from all evil or sinful thoughts. But here let it be observed, 
that thoughts concerning evil, are not always evil thoughts : that a thought 
concerning sin, and a sinful thought, are widely different. A man, for 
instance, may think of a murder which another has committed, and yet 
this is no evil or sinful thought. So our blessed Lord himself, doubtless 
thought of, or understood the thing spoken by the devil, when he said, 
" A.11 this will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Yet 
had he no evil or sinful thought, nor indeed was capable of having any. 

* "Wesley's Works, vol. vii. pp. 137—140. f Vol. viii. p. 219. 



DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. 269 

And even hence it follows, that neither have real Christians. For 
" every one that is perfect is as his Master." (Luke vi. 40.) Therefore, 
if he were free from evil or sinful thoughts, so are they likewise. 

And, indeed, whence should evil thoughts proceed, in the servant, who 
is as his master? "Out of the heart of man [if at all~\ proceed evil 
thoughts." (Mark vii. 21.) If, therefore, his heart he no longer evil, then 
evil thoughts can no longer proceed out of it. If the tree were corrupt, 
so would be the fruit ; but the tree is good. The fruit, therefore, is good 
also. (Matt. xii. 33.) Our Lord himself bearing witness, " Every good 
tree bringeth forth good fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, 
as a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit." (Matt. vii. 17, 18.) 

The same happy privilege of real Christians, St. Paul asserts from his 
own experience. "The weapons of our warfare," saith he, "are not 
carnal, but mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strong holds, 
casting down imaginations," [or reasonings rather, for so the word 
Aoyio-j.ibvs signifies ; all the reasonings of pride and unbelief against 
the declarations, promises, or gifts of God;] " and every high thing that 
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God ; and bringing into captivity 
every thought to the obedience of Christ." (2 Cor. x. 4, &c.) 

Secondly, from evil tempers. This is evident from the above-mentioned 
declaration of our Lord himself: " The disciple is not above his master ; 
but every one that is perfect shall be as his master." He had been 
delivering just before, some of the sublimest doctrines of Christianity, 
and some of the most grievous to flesh and blood. " I say unto you, love 
your enemies, do good to them which hate you ; and unto him that 
smiteth thee on the one cheek, offer also the other." Now these he well 
knew the world would not receive ; and, therefore, immediately adds, 
" Can the blind lead the blind ? Will they not both fall into the ditch ?" 
As if he had said, " Do not confer with flesh and blood touching these 
things, with men void of spiritual discernment, the eyes of whose under- 
standing God hath not opened, lest they and you perish together." In 
the next verse he removes the two grand objections, with which these 
wise fools meet us at every turn, " These things are too grievous to be 
borne,'' or, " They are too high to be attained:" saying, "The disciple 
is not above his master :" therefore, if I have suffered, be content to tread 
in my steps. And doubt ye not then, but I will fulfil my word: " For 
every one that is perfect, shall be as his master." But his master was 
free from all sinful tempers. So, therefore, is his disciple, even every real 
Christian. 

Thus doth Jesus " save his people from their sins ;" and not only from 
outward sins, but also from the sins of their hearts : from evil thoughts, 
and from evil tempers. " True," say some, " we shall thus be saved from 
our sins; but not till death, not in this world." But how are we to reconcile 
this with the express words of St. John ? " Herein is our love made 
perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he 
is, so are we in this world." The apostle here, beyond all contradiction, 
speaks of himself and other living Christians, of whom (as though he had 
foreseen this very evasion, and set himself to overturn it from the foun- 
dation) he flatly affirms, that not only at, or after death, but in this world, 
they are as their master. (1 John iv. 17.)* 

But do those who are justified, gradually die to sin and grow in grace, 
till at, or perhaps a little before death, God perfects them in love ? We 
believe this is the case of most, but not of all. God usually gives a con- 
siderable time for men to receive light, to grow in grace, to do and suffer , 
his will, before they are either justified or sanctified. But he does not 
invariably adhere to this. Sometimes he cuts short his ivork. He does 

* Wesley's Works, vol. viii. p. 231—233. 



270 DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. 

the work of many years in a few ■weeks : perhaps in a week, a day, an 
hour. He justifies or sanctifies hoth those who have done or suffered 
nothing, and who have not had time for a gradual growth either in light 
or grace. " And may he not do what he will with his own ? Is thine 
eye evil because he is good ?" It need not therefore be affirmed over and 
over, and proved by forty texts of Scripture, either that most men are 
perfected in love at last, that there is a gradual tvorJc of God in the soul ; 
or that, generally speaking, it is a long time, even many years, before sin 
is destroyed. All this we know. But we know likewise, that God may, 
with man's good leave, cut short his ivork in whatever degree he pleases, 
and do the usual work of many years in a moment. He does so in many 
instances. And yet there is a gradual work, both before and after that 
moment. So that one may affirm the work is gradual, another, it is 
instantaneous, without any manner of contradiction.* 

Can those who are perfect in love fall from this state? We are well 
assured they can. Matter of fact puts this beyond dispute. Formerly 
we thought one saved from sin could not fall. Now, we know the con- 
trary. We are surrounded with instances of those, who lately experienced 
all that we mean by perfection. They had both the fruit of the Spirit 
and the ivit?icss. But they have now lost both. Neither does any one 
stand, by virtue of any thing that is implied in the nature of the state. 
There is no such height or strength of holiness as it is impossible to fall 
from. If there be any that cannot fall, this wholly depends on the 
promise and faithfulness of God. That those who fall from this state 
may recover it, we have many instances. Nay, it is an exceeding com- 
mon thing for persons to lose it more than once before they are established 
therein, t 

How are we to wait for this change ? Not in careless indifference, or 
indolent inactivity ; but in vigorous, universal obedience, in a zealous 
keeping of all the commandments, in watchfulness and painfulness, in 
denying ourselves, and taking up our cross daily ; as well as in earnest 
prayer and fasting, and a close attendance on all the ordinances of God. 
And if any man dream of attaining it in any other way, (yea, or of 
keeping it when it is attained, when he has received it even in the largest 
measure) he deceiveth his own soul. It is true we receive it by simple 
faith. But God does not, will not give that faith, unless we seek it with 
all diligence, in the way which he hath ordained. | 



VII. THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS. 

By the Saints is understood, those who are holy or righteous, in the 
judgment of God himself: those who are endued with the faith that 
purifies the heart, that produces a good conscience : those who are grafted 
into the good olive tree, the spiritual, invisible church: those who are 
branches of the true vine, of whom Christ says, " I am the vine, ye are 
the branches :" those who so effectually know Christ, as, by that know- 
ledge, to have escaped the pollutions of the world ; those who see the 
light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and who have been 
made partakers of the Holy Ghost, of the witness and fruits of the 
Spirit ; those who live by faith in the Son of God ; those who are sanc- 
tified by the blood of the covenant : those to whom all, or any of these 
characters belong, are intended by the term Saints. 

Can any of these fall away ? By falling away is meant, not barely 
falling into sin. This it is granted they may. But can they fall totally I 
Can any of these so fall from God, as to perish everlastingly? § Argu- 

* Wesley's Works, vol. xi. p. 224.] f Vol. xi. p. 228. 

J Vol. xi. p. 200. § Vol. xiv. p. 412. 



DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. 271 

merits from experience alone will never determine this point. They can 
only prove thus much, on the one hand, that our Lord is exceeding 
patient, that he is peculiarly unwilling any believer should perish ; that 
he bears long, very long with all their follies, waiting to be gracious, and 
to heal their backslidings ; and that he does actually bring bach many 
lost sheep, who, to man's apprehensions, were irrecoverable : but all this 
does not amount to a convincing proof, that no believer can or does fall 
from grace. So that this argument, from experience, will weigh little 
with those who believe the possibility of falling. 

And it will weigh full as little with those who do not. For if you 
produce ever so many examples of those who were once strong in faith, 
and are now more abandoned than ever, they will evade it by saying, 
" O, but they will be brought back ; they will not die in their sins." 
And if they do die in their sins, we come no nearer ; we have not gained 
one point still. For it is easy to say, " They were only hypocrites : 
they never had true faith." Therefore, Scripture alone can determine 
this question. And Scripture does so fully determine it, that there needs 
only to set down a very few texts, with some short reflections upon, 
them.* 

First, " When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and 
committeth iniquity, — in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his 
sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die." (Ezekiel xviii. 24.) 
That this is to be understood of eternal death, appears from the 26tli 
verse : — " When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, 
and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them \Jiere is temporal death~\ for 
his iniquity that he hath done, he shall die :" here is death eternal. 

Secondly, " War a good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience, 
which some having put away, concerning faith have made shipwreck." 
(1 Tim. i. 18, 19.) These men (such as Hymeneus and Alexander) had 
once the faith that purifies the heart, that produces a good conscience : 
this they once had, or they could not have put it away. They made 
shipwreck of the faith, which necessarily implies the total and final loss 
of it. For a vessel once wrecked can never be recovered. 

Thirdly, " lam the vine, ye are the branches. If a man abide not 
in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather 
them, and cast them into ihe fire, and they are burned." (John xv. 6.) 
Here the persons spoken of, were in Christ, branches of the true Vine : 
some of these branches abide not in Christ, but the father taketh them 
away : they are cast forth, cast out from Christ and his chui-ch : they 
are not only cast forth but withered; consequently, never grafted in 
again ; nay, they are not only cast forth and withered, but also cast into 
the fire : and they are burned. 

Fourthly, " Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom 
thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one.'' (John 
xvii. 11.) Great stress has been laid upon this text: and it has been 
hence inferred, that all those whom the Father had given him (a phrase 
frequently occurring in this chapter) must infallibly persevere to the 
end. And yet in the very next verse, our Lord himself declares, that 
one of those whom the Father had given him, did not persevere unto the 
end, but perished everlastingly. His own words are, " Those that thou 
gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of per- 
dition." (Verse 12.) 

Fifthly, " It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and 
have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy 
Ghost, — if they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance ; 
seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to 

* Wesley'* Works, vol. xiv. p. 361. 



272 DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. 

an open shame." (Heb. vi. 4, 6.) Must not every unprejudiced person 
see, the expressions here used are so strong and cieai, that they cannot, 
without gross and palpable wresting, be understood of any but true 
believers ? 

Sixthly, " The just shall live by faith ; but if any man draw back, 
my soul shall have no pleasure in him." (Heb. x. 38.) That is, I will 
utterly cast him off ; and, accordingly, the drawing back here spoken of, 
is termed in the verse immediately following, drawing back unto per- 
dition. But is the person supposed to draw back the same with him who 
is said to live by faith ? To this it may be answered, can any man draw 
back from faith who never came to it ? But had the text been fairly 
translated, there had been no pretence for this objection. For the original 
runs thus : <5 diicaLos e/c TnoTews ^-'qarai Kai lav viroo~TeiAr)Tai. 
If 6 dlncuos, the just man that lives by faith [so the expression necessa- 
rily implies, there being no other nominative to the vcrb~\ draw back, my 
soul shall have no pleasure in him. But the apostle adds, " We are not 
of them who draw back unto perdition. ' True, but this is so far from 
contradicting what has been observed before, that it manifestly confirms 
it. It is a farther proof, that there are those who draw bade unto per- 
dition, although the apostle was not of that number. 

Seventhly, " If we sin wilfully, after we have received the knowledge 
of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain 
fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour 
the adversaries. He that despised Moses's law died without mercy 
under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment shall he 
be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and 
hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an 
unholy thing." (Heb. x. 26—29.) It is undeniably plain :— 1. That the 
person mentioned here, was once sanctified by the blood of the covenant. 
2. That he afterwards, by known, wilful sin, trod under foot the Son of 
God : and, 3. That he, hereby, incurred a sorer punishment than death, 
namely, death everlasting. 

The sum of all is this. If the Scriptures are true, those who are holy 
or righteous in the judgment of God himself: those who are endued 
with the faith that purifies the heart, that produces a good conscience : 
those who are grafted into the good olive tree, the spiritual, invisible 
church : those who are branches of the true vine, of whom Christ says, 
I am the vine, ye are the branches: those who so effectually know 
Christ, as by that knowledge to have escaped the pollution of the world : 
those who see the light of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ, 
and who have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost, of the witness 
and of the fruits of the Spirit : those who live by faith on the Son of 
God : those who are sanctified by the blood of the covenant ; may, ne- 
vertheless, so fall from God, as to perish everlastingly. Therefore, " Lcl 
him who standeih take heed lest he fall.''* 

* We^ey's Works, -<>ol. xiv. p. 428. 



273 
FORMS OF CHAPEL DEEDS. 

Although we have given the forms of two Deeds of Trust, which may 
be used according to circumstances, we cannot here point out the manner 
in which, in all cases, they may be applied. These Deeds are in the form 
of a bargain and sale of freehold property ; but, in some instances, the title 
may render it necessary to adopt the Lease and Release as the proper 
mode of conveyance of freehold property, and which an intelligent So- 
licitor will know when to apply. It may also be necessary to remark, 
that Chapels held under the several tenures of Copyhold and Leasehold 
will require their different and appropriate modes of conveyance, although 
the Trusts will be the same as those which we have here inserted. But, 
whatever may be the nature of the tenure, or the mode of conveyance, 
in all cases the Deed of Trust must be enrolled in Chancery within six 
[calendar] months from its date. And it may be necessary to observe, that 
no gift or devise by will of houses or land, or money to be laid out in 
houses or land, upon the Trusts mentioned in these Deeds, or upon simi- 
lar Trusts, or upon any charitable or pious Trusts, is good ; and that no 
gift by Deed of houses or land upon the like Trusts will be valid, unless 
the donor happen to live twelve months after the execution of the Deed, 
which Deed must be enrolled within six months from its date. It is 
therefore safest, in all cases, to purchase the land upon which Chapels 
are intended to be built. — Large Minutes. 

No. I. 

This Indenture made the day of in the year of 

our Lord, 18 between A. B.* of the first part, C. D. feet of the 

second part, and E. F. of Preacher of the Gospel, (one of 

the members of the Methodist Conference, as established by the late 
Rev. John Wesley,) Of the third part. Whereas the said A. B. hath 
contracted and agreed with the said C. D. and the said several other per- 
sons, parties hereto, of the second part, for the absolute sale to them of 
the piece or parcel of ground, hereinafter particularly mentioned, at or 
for the price or sum of £ And whereas the said piece or parcel 

of ground hath been so purchased, for the purpose of erecting thereon a 
Chapel for the use of the Preachers, who are and may be members of 
the Methodist Conference, as established by the late Rev. John Wesley,. 
and of the Society of Methodists, in connexion with them, and the said 
purchase money hath been raised by voluntary contributions from indivi- 
duals belonging to the said Society, and it hath been agreed, that the 
Premises so purchased shall be conveyed upon the Trusts hereinafter de- 
clared. Now this Indenture witnesseth, that in pursuance of the 
said agreement, and in consideration of the sum of £ of lawful 

money of Great Britain to him the said A. B. in hand paid, by the said. 
C. D. and the said several other persons, parties hereto, of the second 
part, at or before the sealing and delivery of these presents, the receipt 
whereof he the said A.B. doth hereby admit and acknowledge. He the 
said A. B. hath granted, bargained, and sold, and by these presents 
doth grant, bargain, and sell, unto the said C. D.J &c. their heirs and 
assigns, all,§ &c. and all and singular the rights, members, 

and appurtenances to the said piece or parcel of ground belonging, or in 
any wise appertaining ; and the reversion and reversions, remainder and 

* A. B. the person who sells the land to the Trustees, inserts his name, 
residence, and business. 

t C. D. &c. the Trustees, insert their names, residence, and business, 
j Here name all the Trustees* 

§ Here insert a full and particular description of the ground. 
N 2 



274 FORMS OF CHAPEL DEEDS. 

remainders, rents, issues, and profits thereof; and all the estate, right, 
title, interest, use, trust, property, possession, claim, and demand what- 
soever, both at law and in equity, of him the said A. B. of, 
in, to, or out of the same. To have and to hold the said piece or 
parcel of Ground and Premises, hereby bargained and sold, or intended 
so to be, with the appurtenances, unto and to the use of the said C. D. 
&c* their heirs and assigns for ever. And they the 
said CD. &c. do hereby for themselves respectively, and their 
respective heirs, executors, and administrators, covenant and declare 
with and to the said E. F. and with and to the other members of the 
Methodist Conference, and their successors for the time being, that they 
the said C. D. and the said several persons, parties hereto, of the second 
part, and the survivors and survivor of them, and the heirs and assigns 
of such survivor shall and will stand seized of the said piece of ground, 
and the Chapel and buildings to be thereon erected. Upon Trust, that 
they the said C. D. and the said several other persons, parties hereto, of 
the second part, and the survivors and survivor of them, and the heirs 
and assigns of such survivor do and shall, as soon as conveniently may 
be, by and with monies to be collected from the Society of Methodists, 
and by and with monies to be borrowed by the said Trustees, erect, com- 
plete, and finish the Chapel or place of Divine Worship, intended to be 
erected on the said piece or parcel of ground, together with such other 
erections and buildings as they or the major part of them shall think fit. 

And upon this further Trust, that they do and shall permit and 
suffer such person and persons as shall be appointed at the Yearly Con- 
ference of the people called Methodists, to be held at London, Bristol, 
Leeds, Manchester, or elsewhere, as established by a certain deed poll, 
bearing date the 28th day of February, 1784, under the hand and seal 
of the late Rev. John^ Wesley, and enrolled in the High Court of 
Chancery, and no others, to have the use and occupation of the said 
Chapel, for the purpose of Preaching and Expounding God's holy Word, 
and for the performing of all other acts of Religious Worship therein, 
without any suit or interruption whatsoever, of or by the said Trustees 
for the time being. Provided always that the person or persons so to be 
appointed by the Conference, as aforesaid, shall preach no other doctrines 
than those which are contained in certain Notes upon the New Testament, 
and the first four volumes of Sermons published by the late Rev. John 
Wesley. 

Provided also, that the same Preacher shall not be sent by the Con- 
ference to the said Chapel for more than two years successively, without 
the consent of the Trustees for the time being of the said Chapel and 
Premises, and the Men Leaders of Classes of the said Society assembling 
at the said Chapel, or the major part of them ; such consent to be signi- 
fied in writing, and delivered to the said Conference on the first day of 
their assembling. 

Provided also, that in case it shall appeal- to the Trustees for the 
time being, or the major part of them, or to the Stewards and Men 
Leaders of Classes of the said Society assembling at the said Chapel, 
that the doctrine of any Preacher so to be appointed by the Conference as 
aforesaid, is erroneous, or contrary to the Notes and Sermons hereinbe- 
fore mentioned, or that he is immoral in conduct, or deficient in ability; 
then, and in any and every such case, as often as the same shall happen, 
the said Trustees, for the time being, shall proceed according to the Rule 
in that case provided in the Rules of Pacification in the Minutes of the 
Conference, held in the year 1795, and which Rules shall regulate all 
alterations as to times or additions of public worship in the said Chapel. 

* Name all the Trustees. 



FORMS OF CHAPEL DEEDS. 275 

And upon this fuethee Trust, that they the said Trustees for the 
time being, do and shall, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, 
collect and receive of and from the several persons who shall from time to 
time attend public worship at the said Chapel, such sums of money for 
the seats or pew rents, or by way of contribution or otherwise, as to the 
said Trustees for the time being, together with the Superintendent Preacher 
for the time being of the Circuit in which the said Chapel shall be com- 
prised, or the major part of them, shall judge fit and reasonable ; and do, 
and shall stand possessed of such sums of money, and also of all other 
monies which shall come to their hands under the trust herein contained 
(except such collections as are commonly made by the Preachers or 
Leaders of Classes, or by the said Conference, or at their special appoint- 
ment) upon the trusts hereinafter mentioned, that is to say, Upon trust 
in the first place, to pay the interest which shall become due in respect of 
any gross sum or sums of money which shall be borrowed for the purpose 
of building the said Chapel and other erections belonging thereto. And 
in the next place do and shall pay and apply the surplus of the monies 
so from time to time to be collected and received, as lastly hereinbefore is 
mentioned, in the payment and discharge of all such sum and sums of 
money as shall be so borrowed as aforesaid; and after full payment there- 
of, then do and shall pay and apply such monies as aforesaid, or the 
residue thereof, for and towards the support of the Preachers for the 
time being stationed in the Circuit, in which the said Chapel shall be 
comprised, in such manner as to the Trustees for the time being, and the 
Men Leaders of Classes of the Methodist Society belonging to the said 
Chapel, or the major part of them, shall think proper ; and if . after pro- 
viding for the support of such last-mentioned Preachers, there shall re- 
main any surplus or residue of the said monies, then do and shall pay 
and apply the same for or towards the promotion and furtherance of the 
Preaching of the Gospel, by building of Chapels or otherwise, in the 
said Circuit, and among such poor persons of the Society of Methodists 
at aforesaid as the Trustees for the 

time being, the Superintendent Preacher of the said Circuit, and the 
Men Leaders of Classes of the Methodist Society belonging to the said 
Chapel for the time being, or the major part of them, shall think proper. 

And upon this further Trust, that in case at any time hereafter 
the Society of Methodists, usually assembling at the said Chapel, shall 
be dissolved, or become extinct ; or if in consequence of any act of Le- 
gislature, or otherwise, the said Chapel cannot, consistently with the 
general system of the Methodist Doctrines and Discipline, be used as a 
place of Religious Worship by them, or in case the said Trustees, or the 
major part of them, for the time being, shall be of opinion that a larger 
or more convenient Chapel hath become necessary, then, and in either, 
or any of the said cases, they, the said Trustees, for the time being, do 
and shall, either by public sale or private contract, sell the said Chapel 
and premises to any person or persons who shall be willing to become the 
purchaser or purchasers thereof, for the best price that can be reasonably 
obtained ; and at any such sale by auction to buy in the said Premises, or 
any part thereof, and again to sell the same in the manner aforesaid, with- 
out incurring any personal liability thereby ; and do and shall enter into, 
make, dgn, and execute all such agreements, acts, deeds, and convey- 
ances as shall be necessary for effecting such sales, and making effectual 
conveyances of the Premises sold to the respective purchasers, and to 
his, her, or their heirs and assigns. And it is hereby declared and 
agreed, that the receipts and receipt of the Trustees for the time being 
shall be a legal and sufficient discharge for all sums of money, which 
shall be paid to them under the trusts herein contained, and that after 
having obtained such receipts or receipt, the person or peisons paying 



276 FORMS OF CHAPEL DEEDS. 

any such sum or sums of money shall not be answerable for the same, 
or be in any wise bound or concerned to see to the application of the 
same or any part thereof. And upon this further trust, that they, the 
said Trustees for the time being, do and shall stand possessed of the 
money to be produced by such last-mentioned sale or sales, or a competent 
part thereof, in the first place to discharge all the debts which shall be 
then owing on account of the said Chapel and Premises; and in the next 
place, in case the said Chapel and Premises shall have been sold in con- 
sequence of the Society usually assembling there having been dissolved, 
or become extinct ; or in case the same shall have been sold because the 
said Chapel could not consistently with the general system of the Metho- 
dist Doctrines and Discipline be used as a place of Religious Worship 
by them, do apply and distribute the residue or surplus (if any) of the 
said money among such poor persons in the Methodist Society as the Su- 
perintendent Preacher of the Circuit, comprising the said Chapel, and 
the Trustees for the time being, or the major part of them, shall think 
proper and fit ; but in case the said Chapel and Premises shall have been 
sold in consequence of a larger or more convenient Chapel being neces- 
sary as aforesaid, then that they, the Trustees for the time being, do and 
shall lay out and apply such residue or surplus in or towards the purchase 
or building of another more suitable and convenient Chapel, and do and 
shall hold the same when so purchased or built, upon and for the same 
trusts, intents, aud purposes, as are herein expressed and contained of 
and concerning the said Chapel and Premises. And it is hereby further 
agreed and declared, that in case any of the Trustees herein named, or 
any person or persons to be appointed in his or their place or stead, by 
virtue of the power and authority hereinafter for that purpose contained, 
shall be excluded from the Methodist Society with the consent of the 
major part of the Trustees for the time being (as in the Fuiles of Pacifica- 
tion, above referred to, is expressed) ; then and in such case he or they so 
ceasing to be a member or members of the said Society, and beiug so 
excluded, shall and will at the expense of the said Trust Fund, and upon 
the request of the other Trustees for the time being, "and upon being in- 
demnified by such other Trustees against the payment of any sum or 
sums of money, costs, or expenses which he or they jointly or separately 
may have bound himself or themselves to pay in respect of the said 
Chapel and Premises : and on being paid all monies which may appear 
due to him or them on account of the said Trust Premises, shall release 
and relinquish, convey, and assure all his or their trust estate, and in- 
terest in the said Premises to the other Trustees of the same, for the 
time being, by such Acts and Deeds and in such manner as the other 
Trustees for the time being, or their Counsel in the law, shall advi.>e or 
require. 

Provided also, and it is hereby further declared and agreed, by and 
between the said parties hereto, that when and so often as the Trustees 
hereby appointed, or to be appointed, as hereinafter mentioned, shall, by 
death, incapacity, or refusal to act, or otherwise be reduced to one-third 
of the present number, then and in every such case the Superintendent 
Preacher for the time being of the Circuit in which the said Chapel shall 
be comprised, together with the Stewards and Men Leaders of Classes of 
the said Society assembling at the said Chapel, or the major part in num- 
ber of the said Preacher, Stewards, and Men Leaders, shall within two 
calendar months after such reduction shall happen, nominate so many 
persons (members of the Methodist Society and no others) as will be 
double the number of the Trustees wanting or deficient of the original 
number ; and out of the persons so nominated, the said remaining Trus- 
tees, or the major part of them, shall within two calendar months nest 
after such nomination as aforesaid, elect and appoint so many to be 



FORMS OF CHAPEL DEEDS. 277 

Trustees, as will, together with such remaining Trustees, make up the 
number hereby nominated and appointed. And such remaining Trustees 
as aforesaid shall, within the time last-mentioned, at the costs and 
charges of the said Trust Fund, well and sufficiently convey, transfer, 
and set over the said Chapel and Premises, with the appurtenances, in 
such manner as that the same may be duly vested in such remaining 
Trustees, and such new Trustees as aforesaid jointly upon and for the 
trusts, intents, and purposes herein declared and expressed, or such of the 
same trusts, intents, and purposes as shall be then existing, or capable of 
taking effect ; and such new Trustees, so to be nominated, elected, and 
appointed, shall have such and the same powers in all respects to act in 
the management of the said Trust Premises, in as full and ample manner, 
as if they had been originally appointed Trustees in and by these pre- 
sents. Provided always, that in case the said Preacher, Stewards, 
and Leaders shall at any time hereafter neglect or omit to nominate so 
many persons as hereinbefore mentioned, within the said space of two 
calendar months after they the said Preacher, Stewards, and Leaders 
shall have had notice that the Trustees are reduced to one-third of the 
present number, then, and in every such case, the Trustees for the time 
being, or the major part of them, shall within the space of four calendar 
months then next following, nominate and appoint so many persons 
(Members of the Methodist Society, and no others) to be Trustees, as will 
together with such remaining Trustees make up the present number ; 
and in every such case the said Chapel and Premises shall be convej'ed, 
tranferred, and set over, so that the same may be vested in such re- 
maining Trustees, and such new Trustees jointly in manner aforesaid. 

Provided also, that it shall be lawful for the said Superintendent 
Preacher, Stewards, and Men Leaders of Classes, or the major part of 
them, to proceed as hereinbefore mentioned, to nominate, and lor the 
Trustees for the time being, or the major part of them, to elect and ap- 
point proper persons to be Trustees in the room of those that may die, 
or refuse to act, or become incapable of acting, so as to make up the 
whole number of Trustees, although the Trustees for the time being may 
not be reduced to one-third of the present number, if it shall be thought 
proper so to do. 

Provided also, audit is hereby further agreed and declared, that in 
case the said Conference appointed, or to be appointed, in pursuance of 
the said Deed, of the 2Sth day of February, 17SL. shall at any time cr 
times hereafter cease to be, or be dissolved, or the said last-mentioned 
Deed shall not be acted upon, or in case the said Conference shall refuse 
to appoint a Preacher for the said Chapel as aforesaid, and the same shall 
be unsupplied for three calendar months (except in case of sickness of 
the Preacher) then, and in every such case, the said Ti ustees for the time 
being, and the Men Leaders of Classes belonging to the said Chapel, or 
the major part of such Trustees and Leaders, shall, until the next An- 
nual Conference, and so from time to time, when unsupplied with a 
Preacher, nominate and appoint such person or persons to expound and 
preach God's Holy Word, and to perform all other acts of Religious 
Worship in the said Chapel and Premises, and to have the use and en- 
joyment thereof, at such times and during so long as they the said Trus 
tees for the time being, and the Men Leaders of Classes, or the major 
part of such Trustees and Leaders, shall think proper. Provided ne- 
vertheless, that such person or persons so to be appointed as last 
aforesaid, shall preach no other doctrines than those which are contained 
in the Notes and Sermons above-mentioned, or referred to, and shall be 
of sufficient ability and moral in conduct. 

In witness whereof, the said parties to these presents have hereunto 
set their hands and seals, the day and year first above written. 



278 FORMS OF CHAPEL DEEDS. 

No. II. 
This Indenture, made the day of in the year of our 

Lord, 18 between A. B.* of the first part, C. D., &c.t of the second 
part, and E. F., of Preacher of the Gospel (one of the Members 

of the Methodist Conference, as established by the late Rev. John Wes- 
ley), of the third part. Whereas the said A. B. hath contracted and 
agreed with the said C. D. and the said several other persons, parties 
hereto, of the second part, for the absolute sale to them of the piece or 
parcel of ground, hereinafter particularly mentioned, at or for the price or 
sum of £ And whereas the said piece or parcel of ground hath 

been so purchased, as aforesaid, for the purpose of erecting thereon a 
Chapel for the use of the Preachers, who are and may be Members of 
the Methodist Conference, as established by the late Rev. John Wes- 
ley, and of the Society of Methodists, in connexion with them, and the 
said purchase money hath been raised by voluntary contributions from 
individuals belonging to the said Society, and it hath been agreed that 
the Premises so purchased shall be conveyed upon the Trusts hereinafter 
declared. Now this Indenture witnesseth that, in pursuance of 
the said agreement, and in consideration of the sum of £ of lawful 

money of Great Britain to him the said A. B. in hand paid, by the said 
C. D. and the said several other persons, parties hereto, of the second 
part, at or before the sealing and delivery of these presents, the receipt 
whereof he the said A. B. doth hereby admit and acknowledge. He 
the said A. B. hath granted, bargained, and sold, and by these presents 
doth grant, bargain, and sell, unto the said C. D.,j &c, their heirs ai.d 
assigns, all, &c.,§ and all and singular the rights, members, and 

appurtenances to the said piece or parcel of ground, belonging or in any 
wise appertaining ; and the reversion and reversions, remainder and re 
mainders, rents, issues, and profits thereof; and all the estate, right, title, 
interest, use, trust, property, possession, claim, and demand whatsoever, 
both at law and in equity, of him the said A. B of, in, to, or 

out of the same. To have and to hold the said piece or parcel of 
ground and premises hereby bargained and sold, or intended so to be, 
with the appurtenances, unto and to the use of the said C. D., &c.|| 
their heirs and assigns for ever. And this Indenture further wit- 
nesseth, that they the said several persons, parties hereto, of the se- 
cond part, do hereby jointly and severally, and for their joint and several 
heirs, executors, and administrators, covenant, declare, and agree with 
and to the said E. F., and with and to the other members of the Me- 
thodist Conference, and their successors for the time being, and with and 
to the Society of Methodists, at aforesaid, in manner following — 

that is to say, that they the said CD . and the said several other persons, 
parties hereto, of the second part, and the survivors and survivor of 
them, and the heirs and assigns of such survivor, shall and will stand 
seized of and interested in the said piece or parcel of ground and pre- 
mises hereinbefore bargained and sold, or intended so to be, upon and for 
the trusts, intents, and purposes, and subject to the provisoes and agree- 
ments hereinafter declared and expressed of and concerning the same ; 
that is to say, Upon Trust, that they the said C. D. and the said several 
other persons, parties hereto, of the second part, and the survivors and 
survivor of them, and the heirs and assigns of such survivor do and 

* A. B., the person who sells the land to the Trustees, insert his name, 
residence, and business. 

f C. D., &c, the Trustees, insert their names, residence, and business. 

% Here name all the Trustees. 

§ Here insert a full and particular description of the ground. 

II Name all the Trustees. 



FORMS OF CHAPEL DEEDS. 279 

shall ,*as soon as conven'ently may be, by and with monies to be collected 
from the Society of Methodists, and by and with monies to be borrowed 
by the said Trustees, erect, complete, and finish the Chapel or place of 
Divine Worship, intended to be erected on the said piece or parcel of 
ground, together with s ;ch other erections and buildings as they or the 
major part of them shall think fit. And upon this further Trust, 
that they the said several persons, parties to these presents, of the second 
part, and the survivors and survivor of them, and the heirs and assigns 
of such survivor, do, and shall, by selling or mortgaging the whole or 
any part of the said piece or parcel of ground, and the Chapel and other . 
buildings and erections to be made upon the same, or by granting one or 
more annuity or annuities to any person or persons, to be issuing out of 
and charged upon the said premises, or by, with, and out of the rents, 
issues, and profits thereof, or the contributions to be raised in the manner 
hereinafter mentioned, or by more than one, or by all, or any of the 
aforesaid ways and means, or by such other reasonable ways or means, 
as they or he shall think proper, levy and raise all such sum and 
sums of money as shall be expended in, or necessary for' erecting, com- 
pleting, and finishing the said Chapel, and such other erections and 
buildings as aforesaid ; and for keeping the said premises in proper and 
sufficient repair, and all such other sum and sums of money as shall from 
time to time be necessary for carrying the trusts hei-ein contained, or any 
of them into execution, according to the true intent and meaning of these 
presents, together with lawful interest for all such gross sums of money 
as shall be so raised. And it is hereby also agreed, and declared, that 
nothing herein contained, nor any thing to be contained in any grant of 
any annuity, under the trusts hereinbefore mentioned, unless the con- 
trary shall be therein explicitly expressed, shall extend or be construed 
to extend to maka the said several persons, parties to these presents, of 
the second part, or any of them, or their, or any of their heirs, or assigns, 
personally liable for the payment of any annuity to be granted under or 
by virtue of the Trusts herein contained ; but that the premises which in 
every such grant shall -be charged therewith shall be the fund solely liable 
to the payment of the same. 

Provided also, and it is hereby further agreed, and declared, that 
before any sale shall be made under the trust lastly hereinbefore con- 
tained, the said several persons, parties to these presents, of the second 
part, or the survivors or survivor of them, or the heirs or assigns of such 
survivor, shall give notice in writing, signed by the major part of them, 
specifying therein the premises proposed to be sold, the sum intended to 
be raised by such sale, and the cause of raising the same, and the intended 
application thereof, and shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, the said 
notice to the President of the Conference of the people called Methodists, 
hereinafter mentioned or described, on the first day the said Conference 
shall assemble ; and if the said Conference do not provide and pay the 
sum of money mentioned in such notice to the person or persons ap- 
pointed by the major part of the Trustees of the said premises for the 
time l>eing, to receive the same within six calendar months after the de 
livery of the said notice as hereinbefore is mentioned, then, and in such 
case, immediately after the expiration of the said six calendar months, it 
shall be lawful for the said Trustees, or Trustee for the time being, to 
proceed to make sale of the Premises therein mentioned. 

And upon this further Trust, that they do and shall permit and 
suffer such person and persons as shall be appointed at the yearly Confer- 
ence of the people called Methodists, to be held at London, Bristol, Leeds, 
Manchester, or elsewhere, as established by a certain deed poll, bearing 
date the 28th day of February, 1784, under the hand and seal of the late 
Rev. John Wesley, and enrolled ia the High Court of Chancery, and 



280 FORMS OF CHAPEL DEEDS. 

no others (except with the consent of the Superintendent Preacher for the 
time heiug of the Circuit in which the said Chapel and Premises may be 
comprised) , to have the use and occupation of the said Chapel, for the 
purpose of preaching and expounding God's holy Word, and for the per- 
forming of all other acts of Religious Worship therein, when and so 
often as such person or persons so to be appointed shall think proper, 
without any suit or interruption whatsoever, of or by the said Trustees 
for the time being. Provided always that the person or persons so to be 
appointed by the Conference, as aforesaid, shall preach no other doctrines 
than those which are contained in certain Notes upon the New Testa- 
ment, and the first four volumes of Sermons published by the late Rev. 
John Wesley. 

Provided also, that the same Preacher shall not be sent by the Con- 
ference to the said Chapel for more than two years successively, without 
the consent of the Trustees for the time being of the said Chapel and 
Premises, and the Men Leaders of Classes of the said society assembling 
at the said Chapel, or the major pait of them, such consent to be signi- 
fied in writing, and delivered to the said Conference on the first day of 
their assembling. 

Provided also, that in case it shall appear to the Trustees for the 
time being, or the major part of them, or to the Stewards and Men 
Leaders of Classes of the said society assembling at the said Chapel, 
that the doctrine of any Preacher so to be appointed by the Conference 
as aforesaid, is erroneous, or contrary to the Notes and Sermons herein- 
before mentioned, or that he is immoral in conduct or deficient in ability; 
then, and in any and in every such esse, as often as the same shall 
happen, the said Trustees, for the time being, shall proceed according to 
the rule in that case provided in the Rules of Pacification in the Minutes 
of the Conference, held in the year 1795, and which Rules shall also re- 
gulate all alterations as to times or additions of public worship in the said 
Chapel. And upon this further Trust, that they do and shall, 
from time to time, and at all times hereafter, collect and receive of and 
from the several persons who shall from time to time attend public wor- 
ship at the said Chapel, such sums of money for the seats or pew-rents, 
or byway of contribution or otherwise, as to the said Trustees for the time 
being, together with the Superintendent Preacher for the time being of 
the Circuit in which the said Chapel shall be comprised, or the major 
part of them, shall judge fit and reasonable, and do, and shall stand pos- 
sessed of such sums of money and also of all other monies which shall 
come to their hands under the trusts herein contained (except such col 
lections as are commonly made by the Preachers or Leaders of Classes, 
or by the said Conference, or at their special appointment), upon the trusts 
next hereinafter mentioned — that is to say, Upon trust in the first place, 
to pay the interest which shall become due in respect of any gross sum 
or sums of money which shall be borrowed for the purpose of building 
the said Chapel and other erections belonging thereto. And in the next 
place do and shall pay and apply the surplus of the monies so from time 
to time to be collected and received, as lastly hereinbefore is mentioned 
in the payment and discharge of all such sum and sums of money as shall 
be so borrowed as aforesaid, and after full payment thereof then do and 
shall pay and apply such monies as aforesaid, or the residue thereof, for 
and towards the support of the Preachers for the time being stationed in 
the Circuit, in which the said Chapel shall be comprised in such manner 
as to the Trustees for the time being, and the Men Leaders of Classes of 
the Methodist Society belonging to the said Chapel, or the major part of 
them, shall think proper ; and if, after providing for the support of such 
last mentioned Preachers, there shall remain any surplus or residue of 
the said monies, then do, and shall pay and apply the same for or towards 



FORMS OF CHAPEL DEEDS. 281 

the promotion and furtherance of the preaching of the Gospel, by build- 
ing of Chapels or otherwise in the said Circuit, and among such poor 
persons of the Society of Methodists at aforesaid, as the Trustees 

for the time being, the Superintendent Preacher of the said Circuit, and 
the Men Leaders of Classes of the Methodist Society belonging to the 
said Chapel for the time being, or the major part of them, shall think 
proper. 

And it is hereby agreed, that the said severed persons, parties hereto, 
of the second part, and all future Trustees of the said Chapel and Pre- 
mises shall, at the four Quarterly-Meetings of the Circuit, comprising the 
said Chapel to be held every year, produce and shew forth, or cause to be 
produced and shewn forth to the Preachers, and all and every other the 
person and persons assembled at such Quarterly-Meetings, all and every 
the book and books of account, papers, and vouchers of the said Trustees 
for the time being, relative to the said Chapel and Premises, and the re- 
ceipts and disbursements relative to the said Trust Estate and Premises, 
and permit extracts to be taken therefrom. And upon this further 
Trust, that in case at any time hereafter the Society of Methodists, usually 
assembling at the said Chapel, shall be dissolved, or become extinct ; 
or if in consequence of any act of Legislature, or otherwise, the said Chapel 
cannot consistently with the general system of the Methodist Doctrines 
and Discipline be used as a place of Religious Worship by them, or in 
case the said Trustees, or the major part of them, for the time being, shall 
be of opinion that a larger or more convenient Chapel hath become ne- 
cessary, then, and in either or any of the said cases, they, the said Trus- 
tees for the time being, do and shall, either by public sale or private 
contract, sell the said Chapel and Premises to any person or persons who 
shall be willing to become the purchaser or purchasers thereof, for the 
best price that can be reasonably obtained, and at any such sale by auc- 
tion to buy in the said Premises, or any part thereof, and again to sell the 
same in the manner aforesaid, without incurring any personal liability 
thereby, and do and shall enter into, make, sign, and execute all such 
agreements, acts, deeds, and conveyances as shall be necessary for effect- 
ing such sales, and making effectual conveyances of the Premises sold to 
the respective purchasers, and to his, her, or their heirs and assigns. And 
it is hereby declared and agreed, that the receipts and receipt of the Trus- 
tees for the time being shall be a legal and sufficient discharge for all sums 
of money, which shall be paid to them under the trusts herein contained, 
and that after having obtained such receipts or receipt, the person or per- 
sons paying any such sum or sums of money shall not be answerable for 
the same, or be in any wise bound or concerned to see to the application 
of the same or any part thereof. And upon this further Trust that they, 
the said Trustees for the time being, do and shall stand possessed of the 
money to be produced by such last mentioned sale or sales in trust by and 
with the same, or a competent part thereof, in the first place to discharge 
all the debts which shall be then owing on account of the said Chapel and 
Premises. And in the next place, in case the said Chapel and Premises 
shall have been sold in consequence of the Society usually assembling 
there having been dissolved, or become extinct, or in case the same shall 
have been sold because the said Chapel could not consistently with the 
general system of the Methodist doctrines and discipline be used as a 
place of Religious Worship by them, do and shall apply and distribute 
the residue or surplus (if any) of the said money among such poor persons 
in the Methodist Society as the Superintendent Preacher of the Circuit, 
comprising the said Chapel and the said Trustees for the time being, or 
the major part of then?, shall think proper and fit. But in case the said 
Chapel and Premises shall have been sold in consequence of a larger or 
more convenient Chapel being necessary as aforesaid, then that they the 



282 FORMS OF CHAPEL DEEDS. 

said Trustees for the time being do and shall lay out and apply such re- 
sidue or surplus in or towards the purchase or building of another more 
suitable and convenient Chapel, and do and shall hold the same when so 
purchased or built, upon and for the same trusts, intents, and purposes, 
as are herein expressed and contained of and concerning the said Chapel 
and Premises. And it is hereby further agreed and declared, that in 
case any of the Trustees herein named, or any person or persons to be 
appointed in his or their place or stead, by virtue of the power and 
authority hereinafter for that purpose contained , shall be excluded from 
the Methodist Society with the consent of the major part of the Trustees 
for the time being (as in the Rules of Pacification above referred to is 
expressed), then and in such case he or they so ceasing to be a member 
or members of the said Society, and being so excluded, shall and will at 
the expense of the said Trust Fund, and upon the request of the other 
Trustees for the time being, and upon being indemnified by such other 
Trustees against the payment of any sum or sums of money, costs, or 
expenses which he or they jointly or separately may have bound himself 
or themselves to pay in respect of the said Chapel and Premises, and on 
being paid all monies which may appear due to him or them on account 
of the said Trust Premises, release and relinquish, convey, and assure all 
his or their trust estate, and interest in the said Premises to the other 
Trustees of the same, for the time being, by such Acts and Deeds and in 
such manner as the other Trustees for the time being, or their counsel in 
the law, shall advise or require. 

Provided also, and it is hereby further declared and agreed, by and 
between the said parties hereto, that when and so often as the Trustees 
hereby appointed, or to be appointed, as hereinafter mentioned, shall, by 
death, incapacity, or refusal to act, or otherwise be reduced to one-third of 
the present number, then and in every such case, the Superintendent 
Preacher for the time being of the Circuit in which the said Chapel shall 
be Comprised, together with the Stewards and Men Leaders of Classes of 
the said Society assembling at the said Chapel, or the major part in num- 
ber of the said Preacher, Stewards and Men Leaders, shall within two 
calendar months after such reduction shall happen, nominate so many 
persons (members of the Methodist Society and no others) as will be dou- 
ble the number of the Trustees wanting or deficient of the original num- 
ber ; and out of the persons so nominated, the said remaining Trustees, 
or the major part of them, shall within two calendar months next after 
such nomination as aforesaid, elect and appoint so many to be Trustees as 
will together with such remaining Trustees make up the number hereby 
nominated and appointed. And such remaining Trustees as aforesaid 
shall, within the time last, mentioned, at the costs and charges of the said 
Trust Fund, well and sufficiently convey, transfer, and set over the said 
Chapel and Premises, with the appurtenances, in such manner as that 
the same may be duly vested in such remaining Trustees, and such new 
Trustees as aforesaid, jointly upon and for the trusts, intents, and pur- 
poses herein declared and expressed, or to such of the same trusts, intents, 
and purposes as shall be then existing, or capable of taking effect: and 
such new Trustees, so to be nominated, elected, and appointed, shall have 
such and the same powers in all respects to act in the management of the 
said Trust premises, in as full and ample manner, as if they had been 
originally appointed Trustees in and by these presents. Provided 
always, that in case the said Preacher, Stewards, and Leaders shall at 
any time hereafter neglect or omit to nominate so many persons as here- 
inbefore mentioned, within the said space of two calendar months after 
they the said Preacher, Stewards, and Leaders shall have had notice that 
the Trustees are reduced to one-third of the present number, then, and 
in every such case, the Trustees for the time being, or the major part of 



FORMS OF CHAPEL DEEDS. 283 

them, shall within the space of four calendar months then next following, 
nominate and appoint so many persons (members of the Methodist Society, 
and no others) to he Trustees, as will, together with such remaining 
Trustees, make up the present number ; and in every such case the said 
Chapel and Premises shall be conveyed, transferred, and set over, so that 
the same may be vested in such remaining Trustees, and such new Trus- 
tees jointly in manner aforesaid. 

Provided also, that it shall be lawful for the said Superintendent 
Preacher, Stewards, and Men Leaders of Classes, or the major part of 
them, to proceed as hereinbefore mentioned, to nominate, and for the 
Trustees for the time being, or the major part of them, to elect and ap- 
point proper persons to be Trustees in the room of those that may die, or 
refuse to act, or become incapable of acting, so as to make up the whole 
number of Trustees, although the Trustees for the time being may not be 
reduced to one-third of the present number, if it shall be thought proper 
so to do. 

Provided also, and it is hereby further agreed and declared, that in 
case the said Conference appointed, or to be appointed, in pursuance of 
the said Deed, of the 28th day of February, 1784, shall at any time or 
times hereafter cease to be, or be dissolved, or the said last mentioned 
Deed shall not be acted upon, or in case the said Conference shall refuse 
to appoint a Preacher for the said Chapel as aforesaid, and the same shall 
be unsupplied for three calendar months (except in case of sickness of the 
Preacher) then, and in every such case, the said Trustees for the time 
being, and the Men Leaders of Classes belonging to the said Chapel, or 
the major part of such Trustees and Leaders shall, until the next annual 
Conference, and so from time to time, when unsupplied with a Preacher, 
nominate and appoint such person or persons to expound and preach 
God's holy Word, and to perform all other acts of Religious Worship in 
the said Chapel and Premises, and to have the use and enjoyment thereof, 
at such times and during so long as they the said Trustees for the time 
being, and the Men Leaders of Classes, or the major part of such Trus- 
tees and Leaders shall think proper. Provided nevertheless, that 
such person or persons so to be appointed as last aforesaid, shall preach 
no other doctrines than those which are contained in the Notes and Ser- 
mons above mentioned, or referred to, and shall be of sufficient ability 
and moral in conduct. 

And lastly, it is hereby agreed and declared, that the several Trus- 
tees herein named, and every future Trustee so to be appointed as herein- 
before is mentioned, shall not be charged, or be chargeable with, or be 
made accountable for any loss which shall happen of or to the said trust 
estates, monies, and premises, or the profits to arise therefrom, without his 
wilful neglect or default, nor the one of them, his heirs, executors, or 
administrators, for the other or others of them, but each of them only for 
his own separate acts, deeds, neglects, receipts, and defaults, and that 
each of the said Trustees shall retain, and reimburse, and pay to himself 
and his co-Trustee or Trustees, all costs, charges, and expenses whatso- 
ever, which he or they shall expend or become liable to pay in or about 
the execution of the trusts hereby created. 

In witness whereof, the said* parties to these presents have hereunto 
set their hands and seals, the day and year first above written. 



284 
THE MODEL DEED.* 

The necessity for a more efficient mode than any which had hitherto 
been adopted for the settlement of the numerous Chapels in the Methodist 
Connexion, having been long very generally felt and admitted, and a Plan 
having been proposed with a view to obviate, for the future, the inconveni- 
ence, expense, and insecurity to which Trustees of Chapels and the Con- 
nexion at large had in many instances been exposed ; the Conference, 
held at Sheffield in the year 1829, appointed a Committee to inquire into 
its eligibility, with power, if they thought fit, to take such measures as 
might facilitate its execution. 

This Committee met in London shortly after their appointment. That 
they might tread on sure ground, and be perfectly satisfied of the legal 
security of the proposed Plan, they directed a case to be prepared and laid 
separately before four of the most eminent Counsel in London. The gen- 
tlemen selected were, Sir Edward Burtenshaw Sugden, His Majesty's 
Solicitor-General ; Mr. Bell, Mr. Brodie, and Mr. Atherley. The 
following " Case," in which the proposed Plan and its objects are detailed, 
and the questions thereupon framed, with a view to elicit any objection 
which might exist, or be urged, against it, was accordingly drawn, and 
four copies of it laid separately before them. 

THE CASE. 

In the early part of the last century, the Rev. John Wesley established 
a Religious Society then and since called " Methodists;" and from time 
to time appointed many persons from among them to be their Preachers. 

In the year 174-4, Mr. Wesley invited several of the Preachers to meet 
him in London, to confer upon the doctrines and discipline which they 
ought to teach and adopt, and upon other measures relating to the Society. 
Similar meetings for the same purposes were afterwards held annually, 
and obtained the name of " The Yearly Conference of the People called 
Methodists." 

In order to define this designation, and to perpetuate the " Conference," 
Mr. Wesley executed a Deed Poll, (a copy of which is left herewith,) 
bearing date the 2Sth day of February, 17S4, under his hand and seal, 
and enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery, and thereby de- 
clared that " the Conference of the People called Methodists'' did and 
should consist of one hundred persons therein named ; and he provided, 
in the said Deed Poll, Rules for their conduct, — for the appointment of 
Preachers to the various Chapels, — and especially for filling up vacancies 
occasioned by death or otherwise in the said " Conference" for ever. 

The Conference continued to hold its sittings annually till Mr. Wesley's 
death in the year 1791, and ever since to the present year, under the 
authority and regulations of the above-mentioned Deed Poll. 

The vast increase of the Methodist Society has rendered a proportionate 
addition to the number of their Chapels necessary for their accommoda- 
tion ; and for several years past from fifty to eighty have been annually 
erected. 

It has been usual to convey these Chapels to the use of Trustees, their 
heirs and assigns, upon Trust to permit the Preachers appointed by " the 
Conference" to preach, &c. therein, and no others without the consent of 
one of the Preachers annually appointed by the " Conference" and called 
the " Superintendent" with a proviso that no person whomsoever shall 

* The above account of the origin of this Deed, its formation and final 
adoption by the Conference, has been derived fiom the most authentic 
source. Instead of the Deed itself, which is of great length, an abstract, the 
accuracy of which has been carefully ascertained, is presented to the reader, 
together with notes illustrative of its operation, as compared with that of the 
Deeds previously, and still, in use. 



THE MODEL DEED. 285 

preach therein any other doctrines than such as are contained in certain 
publications therein referred to. 

In a religious Society so constituted, numerous and perpetuated, it is 
obviously matter of great moment, to attain uniformity in the Deeds of 
Settlement and Declarations of Trusts of their Chapels ; the objects of 
which are, 1st, Effectually to vest the legal Estate in the Trustees ; 2d, 
To secure (he use of the Chapels to the Preachers appointed by the 
"Conference;" 3d, To provide for maintaining and perpetuating the 
purity of the doctrines preached therein, and to accomplish these objects 
in a manner most to the mutual security and advantage of the Trustees, 
the " Conference of Preachers ," and the People under their care. 

It is therefore proposed to convey (by Lease and Release) a piece of 
Freehold Ground to the use of Trustees, their heirs and assigns, upon 
Trust for the purposes and with the provision abovementioned, with all 
such powers, authorities, clauses, and declarations, as a Deed of that 
nature ought to contain ; and after it has been duly stamped, executed, 
and acknowledged, to cause it to be enrolled in Chancery, pursuant to 
Statute 9 Geo. II., cap. 36. 

And as well to prevent needless expense, as for the purposes before- 
mentioned, it is also secondly proposed, in all subsequent deeds for the 
same purpose, to convey the Estate in the land and Chapel to be settled 
in like manner, to the use of Trustees, their heirs and assigns ; but instead 
of going through and inserting the Trusts, powers, clauses, and declara- 
tions at length, to declare by sufficient words, that the Trustees, &c. 
shall hold the premises upon such and the like Trusts, <fcc. &c, as are 
expressed, contained, and declared, in the first-mentioned proposed Deed ; 
referring to the date, parties, and enrolment, so as to identify it. Every 
such subsequent deed to be stamped with a stamp or stamps sufficient to 
cover the matter actually contained therein, but not with additional stamps 
for the matter only referred to ; and after due execution and acknowledg- 
ment to be enrolled pursuant to the above-named Statute. 

YOUR OPINION IS REQUESTED, 

1st. Whether or not the Trusts, &c, expressed in the Deed to be 
referred to, can be attached to such subsequent Deeds by reference only, 
without actually transcribing them in such subsequent Deeds ; and 
whether the Trustees, under the subsequent Deeds, will not hold the 
Estates subject, to the Trusts, &c, expressed in the Deed referred to ? 

2d. Will a Stamp or Stamps sufficient to cover the matter actually 
contained in any such subsequent Deed, be sufficient without stamping 
it with the additional Stamps which would be necessary if the matter 
referrtd to were actually transcribed therein 1 

3d. Whether or not the Deed referred to and containing the Trusts, 
&c, at length, will be good Evidence in Court, if required, of the Trusts, 
&c, upon which such subsequent Estates are settled? 
, 4th. Will it be necessary or expedient to make the " Superintendent," 
or any other member of the Conference, as the President for the time 
being, a party on behalf of the " Conference," to all or any of the proposed 
Deeds or not? And, 

5th. Please to state any difficulties or inconveniences (if any) likely 
to arise from the adoption ot the above Plan, and to advise generally 
thereon. 

THE OPINION OF SIR E. B. SUGDEN, IN CONSULTATION WITH 
MR. MATTHEWS.* 

1st. We think they can be so attached ; and that the Trustees of the 

* In cases cf this kind, it is usual for His Majesty's Attorney or Solicitor 
General to be attended in consultation by a junior Counsel. 



286 THE MODEL DEED. 

subsequent Deeds -will hold their Estates subject to the Trusts contained 
in the Deed referred to. 

2d. We think that a Stamp or Stamps, sufficient to cover the matter 
actually contained in such subsequent Deeds, will be sufficient. 

3d. We think it will he good Evidence, and that a Court of Equity 
will enforce the execution of the Trusts contained therein. 

4th. We do not think it necessary ; but if it can be uniformly done, 
it may be as well to do it. 

5tb. We have not any further observations upon the subject to offer. 

EDWARD B. SUGDEN, 
Lincoln's Inn. 
Feb. 18th, 1830. RICHARD MATTHEWS, 

4, Bkick-Couht, Temple. 

the opinion of mr. bkodie. 

1st. It will be sufficient in every subsequent Deed to refer to the 
original Deed ; and the Trustees will hold the Estates comprised in each 
subsequent Deed upon the Trusts of the original Deed. 

2d. Every subsequent Deed should be stamped only according to tbe 
number of words it contains. It will not require additional Stamps for 
the matter referred to. 

3d. The Deed referred to will be good Evidence of the Trusts referred 
to in tbe subsequent Deed. 

4th. It does not appear to me to be necessary to make the Superin- 
tendent, or President for the time being, a party to any of the proposed 
Deeds. 

5th. Whenever it should be necessary to produce evidence of the Trusts 
referred to in the subsequent Deeds, the original Deed containing the 
Trusts referred to, or, in case of the loss of that Deed, an Office Copy of 
the Inrolment must be produced. 

T. B. BRODIE. 
' Lincoln s-Inn-Fields, March 1st, 1830. 

It is stated that the opinions of Mr. Bell and Mr. Atherley are both to 
the same effect. 

Tbe Committee accordingly, forthwith directed Counsel to prepare the 
Draft of a Deed which might serve as a Model to be rel'erred to by sub- 
sequent Deeds in pursuance of tbe Plan detailed in tbe Case. 

This Draft, together with the Case, and all the Opinions, was submitted 
to the Conference held in Leeds in the year 1830 ; when the Conference 
unanimously adopted the Plan, and re-appointed the Committee with 
power to complete and carry it into execution. 

Accordingly, at a meeting of tbe Committee held on the 17th day of 
February, 1S32, at the Methodist Book-room, No. 14, City-road, London, 

it Was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY, 

" That the Draft of the Model Deed so settled, be adopted ; and that it 
be made the subject of a conveyance for the settlement of a Chapel, as 
soon as can conveniently be done." 

The Report of the Committee with the Model Deed, and the above 
Summary of their proceedings were laid before the Conference held in 
Liverpool, in the month of August, 1832, when it was approved, and its 
general adoption strongly recommended to the Connexion at large, &c. 



AN ABSTRACT OF THE MODEL DEED. 

This Deed is dated 3d of July, 1832, and made between Fifteen Trus- 
tees (principally resident in Yorkshire), of the 1st part; George Marsden 



THE MODEL DEED. 287 

(then President of Conference), of the 2d part, and James Brown, of 
London, of the 3d part. 

It first recites the Origin of the Methodist Societies in the year 1738. — 
It next notices the first formation of Conference in 1744. — The Deed 
then gives a recital of the Deed Poll enrolled by Mr. Wesley in Chancery, 
dated 28th February, 1784. — After noticing the death of Mr. Wesley, 
" the Model Deed" recites that the Conference, in 1791, united certain 
Circuits into Districts, and appointed a Chairman to each District.— The 
Deed next recites a Contract for the purchase of a piece of Ground, in 
the parish of Halifax, Yorkshire, on which a Chapel and other Premises 
were intended to be built, and settled to the Use, and upon the Trusts, 
and in manner therein after declared and contained (that is to say) 

1. Upon Trust, that the Trustees for the time being, of the said piece 
of Ground and Premises, out of the Monies they had or should receive, 
were to build thereon a Chapel, Vestry-rooms, Dwelling-Houses, School- 
rooms, and other offices, and from time to time repair, alter, enlarge, and 
rebuild the same. 

2. And upon further Trust, to permit the said Chapeland Premises, 
to be used as a place of Worship, for the people called Methodists, and for 
public and other Meetings held according to the general Rules and Usages 
of Methodism. And to allow such persons only to preach and expound 
therein, as should be duly appointed by Conference, or by the Superinten- 
dent preacher for the time being.* 

3. Ano it is thereby declared, that the Times and Manner of 
conducting worship in the said Chapel, shall be regulated according to 
the general Rules and Usage of Methodism. And that the Superinten- 
dent preacher for the time being, should have the direction and control 
ef the said worship, f 

4. Provided always, that if at any time the Trustees, or a major part 
of them ; or if the Stewards and Leaders of Classes belonging to the 
said Chapel, or a majority of them, shall believe that any Preacher ap- 
pointed as aforesaid, is either Immoral, Erroneous in doctrine, or Deficient 
in ability (unless the same shall have been previously disposed of by the 
Preachers in the District), then it shall be lawful for the Trustees, or a 
majority of them, or for the said Society Stewards, and Leaders of Classes, 
or a majority of them, to summon the Preachers of the District ; and 
also all the Trustees, Stewards, and Leaders of the Circuit, to meet in the 
said Chapel (of which notice in writing shall at least fourteen days pre- 
viously be personally served upon the said Preachers, Trustees, Stewards, 
and Leaders, or left for, or sent by the post, to them respectively.) And 
the Chairman of the District shall be the President of the Assembly, 
and every Preacher, Trustee, Steward, and Leader, shall have a siugle 
vote, and, in case of an equality of Votes, the Chairman shall possess 
the casting vote: and if the majority of the meeting adjudge that the 
accused Preacher is Immoral, Erroneous, or Deficient as aforesaid, he 
shall be considered as removed from the Circuit, and the District- Meet- 
ing shall, as soon as possible, appoint another Preacher to that Circuit, 
and shall determine how the removed Preacher shall be disposed of till 
Conference. And if any such Preacher shall refuse to submit to the 
above trial, he shall be considered as suspended till the ensuing Confer- 
ence, and the District-Meeting shall supply his place. And in default 

* The old Trust Deed provides that no Preacher shall be sent to the same 
Circuit for more than two years successively, without the consent of the 
Trustees ; hut by this Deed he may remain twenty years, there being no 
restriction to the contrary. 

t By the former Trust Deed, " the times and manner" of conducting Ser- 
vice were to be regulated by " the Rules of Pacification," therein frequently 
mentioned ; but in the present Model Deed they are not once referred to. 



288 THE MODEL DEED. 

thereof, within one calendar month, the majority of the said Trustees, 
Stewards, and Leaders (being again regularly summoned), shall appoint 
a Preacher till Conference, provided he be a member of the Methodist 
Connexion.* 

5. Provided always, that no person shall be permitted to preach, or 
expound in the said Chapel or Premises, who shall teach any Doctrine 
contrary to what is contained in certain Notes on the New Testament, by 
the late John Wesley, and in the First Four volumes of Sermons, reputed 
to he written by him. 

6. And upon further Trust, in case a School-room, or Rooms, shall 
he erected on the said piece of Ground, or if there be no separate School- 
room : and it shall by the Trustees, or the major part of them, be thought 
expedient to teach a Sunday, or other School, in part of the said Chapel, 
then to permit and sutler the same : Provided always, that whether it be 
held in the Chapel, or otherwise, the School shall be under such orders 
and regulations as Conference may direct or appoint. + 

7. Provided always, that it shall be lawful for the Trustees, or the 
major part of them, as often as they shall deem it expedient, to take 
down, and remove the said Chapel and Premises, or any part thereof, for 
the purpose of rebuilding or enlarging the same. 

8. And it is thereby declared, that it shall be lawful for the 
Trustees, or the major part of them, to mortgage the said piece of Ground, 
Chapel, and Premises, or any part thereof, to any person whomsoever, 
for securing such Sums as may be borrowed thereon : nevertheless, it is 
thereby declared, that no mortgage shall be made of the said Premises, 
unless the same shall cover the tohole Debt owing thereon (except only 
such Debts as may be accruing on account of the ordinary current ex- 
penses of the same Chapel and Premises). But it is thereby declared 
that it shall not be incumbent upon the Mortgagee to inquire into the ne- 
cessity, or expediency, of any Mortgage which shall be made or pro- 
posed : nor shall anything therein contained, or which may be contained 
in such Mortgage, extend, or be construed to extend (unless the full con- 
sent of the Trustees, or the major part of them, be therein actually ex- 
pressed), to hinder, or prevent, the taking down, removing, or altering the 
said Chapel and Premises, or any of them, or in any manner to hinder, 
or interfere with the execution of the Trust, so long as the Mortgagee, 
his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, shall not be in the actual 
possession as such Mortgagee. £ 

* The old Trust Deed makes no mention of a President or Superintendent, 
but merely directs " the Trustees, Stewards, and Men Leaders," of their own 
authority, to proceed to the trial of a Preacher, "according to the Rules of 
Pacification in that case provided." 

+ This clause of the Deed restricts the mode of conducting Sunday-schools 
to " such government, orders, and regulations, as Conference may direct or 
appoint." In the old Trust Deed there is not a word respecting any inter- 
ference with the Teachers. 

% From the manner in which this clause is drawn up and guarded.it does not 
appear to have been the intention of the framer of this Deed that any Chapel 
or Premises should be Mortgaged. The Trustees are empowered to mortgage 
the Chapel and Premises, if they can obtain money upon them to the amount 
of the whole debt, but not otherwise; and if the Mortgagee will engage not 
to hinder, or prevent, the Trustees from "taking down, removing, or altering 
the same Chapel and Premises," nor " interfere with the execution of the 
Trusts, so long as such Mortgagee shall not be in the actual possession of the 
premises." The usual mode of obtaining money on Chapels, &c, is by the 
Trustees giving their joint and several promissory note or bond as a security 
for money advanced, thereby leaving the Conference property untouched. 
This mode, however, enables individuals lending money to select and pro- 
ceed against any one or more of the Trustees they may-think proper. In the 



THE MODEL DEED. 289 

9. And uroN further Trust, to let the Pews and Seats in the said 
Chapel (reserving as many free seats as expedient.) And if there shall 
be any Dwelling-Houses, or School-Rooms, then to let the same, or any 
of them. And also, if there be a Cemetery, or Burial-G round, to let 
Graves and Tombs, or to sell Graves and Tombs. And to collect and 
receive the Rents and Income therefrom (excepting monies which shall 
arise from Collections, made therein according to the general Rules of 
Methodism), but not (except monies received for Graves or Tombs) by 
way of anticipation, further than for a quarter, half-year, or year. 

iO. And it is thereby declared, that the Trustees, shall stand pos- 
sessed of the Money to arise from the Rents and Profits (except as afore- 
said.) Upon Trust, thereout to pay, in the first place, such Taxes and 
other Outgoings as shall be payable in respect of the said premises ; and 
the Costs of Insuring the same against Fire ; and in keeping them in 
repair ; and likewise in paying the Interest of any Money borrowed 
thereon ; And then.Xo reimburse themselves all Expenses incurred in the 
execution of the Trust. And in the next place to discharge the Costs 
incurred in cleansing, lighting, and attending the said Chapel, and gene- 
rally to liquidate any Debts occasioned by the execution of the Trusts thereof. 

11. And upon further Trust, to apply any surplus Money (if any) 
towards the support of the Preachers stationed in the Circuit, or for the 
purpose of assisting the funds of any other Methodist Chapel, or in build- 
ing any new Chapel, which shall be settled upon similar Trusts, or in sub- 
scribing to any of the general Funds of Methodism. 

12. And ir is thereby declared, that it shall be lawful for the 
Trustees, or the major part of them (although there shall not be any sur- 
plus Money as aforesaid), to subscribe such sums of Money as they shall 
think expedient from the funds of the said Chapel, towards all or any of 
the purposes, or Charities aforesaid.* 

13. And it is thereby declared, that it shall be lawful for the 
Trustees, or the major part of them, at any meeting to be convened as is 
therein after mentioned, to appoint any person, or persons, of decent and 
sober conduct, to be a Steward or Stewards of the said Chapel, whose 
duty shall be to attend to the orderly conducting of the secular business 
thereof; And also in like manner to appoint any proper person or persons, 
to be a Treasurer, or Treasurers, of the Funds of the said Chapel and 
Premises. 

14. And it is thereby declare n, that the Trustees shall themselves, 
or by their Stewards, or Treasurer, keep Books of account, in which shall 
be regularly entered every Receipt and Disbursement, and also of all 
Debts and Credits due to, and owing from the said Trust Premises, or 
any part thereof: And also of all other Documents necessary for the ex- 
planation of the satne Books. And shall also in like manner keep a 
Book, in which shall be plainly, and regularly, entered, Minutes of all 
Trustee-Meetings held by virtue thereof: And of the resolutions passed, 
and of all proceedings done thereat ; And shall, upon every request of 
the Superintendent Preacher of the Circuit, produce and show forth, to 
him, and to any person w r hom he shall desire to see the same, all and 
every such Books of Account, and Minutes, Documents, Matters, and 
Things ; And permit Copies or Abstracts thereof to be made by the said 
Superintendent, or by any person whom he may appoint. 

15. And the said Books of Account and Minutes, and all Document s 

Deed of the New Connexion, it is expressly declared that all money borrowed, 
even on personal security, shall be a direct "charge and lien" upon the 
Chapels for which it was borrowed ; thereby protecting the Trustees from un- 
reasonable responsibility. 

* It may be declared " lawful," but it would hardly be honest to do this out 
of funds which are applicable to, and should be religiously applied, in the 
payment of debts. 

O 



290 THE MODEL DEED. 

relating to the said Trust premises, shall, at least once in the year, and 
oftener it* the said Superintendent shall desire, be regularly Examined and 
Audited by him, and the Circuit Stewards, at a meeting convened for that 
purpose ; And of every such meeting 14 days' notice, in writing, shall be 
given under the direction of the said Superintendent, unto each of the 
said Trustees and Stewards. 

16. And in order to facilitate the auditing of the said Accounts and 
Documents, it shall be lawful for the said Superintendent, and Stewards, 
or any of them, to appoint in writing a Deputy to act for them : And it 
is thereby declared that the Signatures of the said Auditors and Deputies, 
or a majority of them, written in the said Books and Minutes, shall be 
sufficient evidence that the same were duly audited and approved, unless 
the contrary be therein expressed. 

17. And it is thereby declared, that every Meeting for the pur- 
pose of taking into consideration the propriety of making any Alteration 
of, or any addition to, or Mortgage, or Sale of the said Chapel and Pre- 
mises, or any part thereof ; or for contracting any Debt for, or on account 
thereof (except the ordinary current expenses) ; or for letting any such 
Houses or School-Rooms, as aforesaid; or for fixing the Rents or Prices 
of such Graves, Tombs, Pews, and Seats, as aforesaid; or for appro- 
priating the Funds of the said Chapel and Premises ; or for bringing, 
instituting, or defending any Action or Suit respecting the said Trust 
premises, shall be deemed a. Special Meeting, and of every such Meeting, 
14 days' notice, in writing, specifying the lime, place, and purpose of such 
meeting, and signed by at least two of the Trustees, or by the Superin- 
tendent Preacher, shall be given to the others of them.* 

18. And for the purpose of transacting the Ordinary Business relating 
to the said Chapel and Premises (except where 14 days' notice is required 
as aforesaid), a meeting of the Trustees may be held, but with the sanction 
of the said Superintendent, so soon as the same can be conveniently as- 
sembled, by notice in writing, specifying the time and place of such 
meeting, and signed by two of the Trustees, or the Superintendent, given 
to the others cf them. 

19. Provided always, that no such meeting shall be invalid, or the 
Resolutions thereof void, by reason that any Notice as aforesaid, may not 
have reached any Trustee or Trustees, who, at the time of such Meeting, 
happen to be beyond seas, or whose place of abode shall not be known to, 
and cannot reasonably be found by, the person or persons authorised to 
give such notice. 

20. And it is thereby declared, that at every such meeting, the 
Votes of the persons present, or a majority of them, shall decide any 
question, or matter then proposed: And in case the Votes shall be equal,, 
then the Chairman shall give the casting vote, which shall be in addition 
to the Vote he was entitled to give as Superintendent. 

21. And it is thereby declared, that whenever it shall be thought 
necessary or expedient, to do any thing in the Trust premises, the neces- 
sity or expediency of doing the same, shall be decided by the persons 
present, and entitled to vote upon the question to be determined, or by the 

* This is an exceedingly ill advised clause. Circumstances may occur in 
which it will be necessary to apply to a Court of Equity for an injunction to 
restrain. waste or injury to the Chapel Premises, without the delay of one day ; 
but no such application can be made until a fortnight has elapsed, and dur- 
ing this time the mischief complained of may be complete, and the Trustees 
remediless. The Trustees ought to have had power to call a Special Meeting, 
on giving one, or at most two days notice. They cannot now defend an ac- 
tion until this >pecial meeting has been convened, except at their own risk; 
and it is well known that actions are now commenced and terminated so 
speedily, that in fourteen days, judgment and execution may be obtained, and 
the person of an unfortunate Trustee be in the custody of the sheriff. 



THE MODEL DEED. 291 

majority of them, and if there shall he an even division, then by such 
casting vole as aforesaid, and such Acts shall hind the minority. 

22. And it is thereby declared, that the " General Rules and 
Usage of the said people called Methodists, ' therein mentioned or re- 
ferred to, are the General Rules, Usage, and Practice of the whole body, 
as the same respectively appear in the Annual Minutes of the said Con- 
ference, published by authority.* 

23. Provided always, that the Superintendent Preacher of the Cir- 
cuit, or his Deputy by him appointed in writing, shall be the Chairman 
of, and preside at, and have a vote as aforesaid, in all meetings held by 
virtue thereof; But in case the said Superintendent, or his Deputy, shall 
neglect to attend such meetings, or if they shall attend, but refuse to act as 
the Chairman thereof: Then it shall be lawful for the persons composing 
the Meeting, and entitled to vote, or for a majority of them, to elect from 
among themselves a Chairman, and such meeting, so held, shall be valid 
and effectual 

24. Provided always, that it shall be lawful for the Trustees, ivith 
the consent of Conference, (such consent to be testified in writing, under 
the hand of the President for the time being,) absolutely to Sell and dis- 
pose of the said Chapel and Premises, or any part thereof, either by public 
Sale or private Contract; And to apply the money arising from such sale, 
so far as the same will extend, to discharge all the incumbrances, and 
liabilities, whether personal, or otherwise, occasioned by virtue, or in 
execution of the Trusts thereof: And subject thereto, [to employ the 
Residue of the Money, arising from such salet] either for promoting the 
preaching of the Gospel amongst the Methodists of the Circuit, or for the 
purpose of procuring a larger or more convenient Chapel and Premises, 
which must be settled upon the same Trusts as are therein contained.% 

25. Provided always, that if at any time hereafter, the income 
arising from the said Chapel and Premises shall be inadequate to meet 
and discharge the interest of all monies borrowed thereon, and of the cur- 
rent Expenses : And if the Trustees shall desire to retire, and be dis- 
charged from the burden of the said Trusts ; and if no proper persons can. 
be found to take upon themselves the execution of the said Trusts, with 
the Responsibility and Liability to be thereby incurred ; Then it shall be 
lawful for the Trustees, or the major part of them, of their own authority, 
and without the consent of Conference, to sell the said Chapel and Pre- 
mises, or any part thereof, either by public sale, or private contract : And 
the money arising from such sale shall be applied, as far as the same will 
extend, to the Purposes and in manner therein before directed, with respect 
to any Sale made with the consent of Conference as aforesaid: But it is 
thereby declared, that no sale shall be made by virtue of this power, un- 

* We learn from this clause that the words " General Rules and Usage of 
the people called Methodists," which frequently occur in the Model Deed, are 
to be interpreted by the Preachers in Conference, and the Trustees are to bow 
to such construction of them as is published by authority. This clause is ex- 
tremely vague, and will doubtless give rise to much litigation. Indeed, if 
ever it should become matter for judicial investigation, it will be adjudged 
void for uncertainty The Usages of Methodism are contrary to the Rules, 
and the Rules are inconsistent with themselves. There are not many Preach- 
ers in the Connexion who are of the same mind as to many of the Rules, and 
the Usage is undefined and undefinable. 

t Something of this kind, we presume, was intended; but it is omitted, 
at least in the printed Copy. 

% The Trustees are clearly not allowed by this Model Deed to sell the 
Chapel and Premises without the consent of Conference < except in desperate 
cases) ; but whether they do, or do not, obtain such consent, the surplus money 
must be appropriated to support the Preachers in the Circuit, or go to build 
another Chapel to be settled upon the same Trusts. In the former Deed a pro- 
vision was made in cases of this kind for the money to go to the poor members 
of Society. 



292 THE MODEL DEED. 

less the Trustees or a majority of them, shall give Notice, in writing, to 
the Conference, or to the President for the time being, on or before the 
first day of their next annual meeting, of their intention to make such 
sale, and the reasons for the same; nor unless the Conference shall, for 
the space of six calendar months next after, refuse or neglect to give, or 
provide, the said Trustees with such pecuniary, or other aid, as shall 
enable them to bear, and continue the burden, or to find and provide other 
Trustees, who will take upon themselves the execution of the said Trusts.* 

26. And it is thereby declared, that the Receipt of a majority of 
the Trustees shall be a full discharge to the person or persons entitled to 
such Receipt, his, her, and their heirs, executors, administrators, and 
assigns, for all Mortgage monies, purchase, or other monies, therein ac- 
knowledged to have been received. 

27. And it is thereby declared, that it shall not be incumbent 
upon any Mortgagee, or Purchaser of the said Chapel and Premises, or 
any part thereof to inquire into the necessity, or expediency, of any Mort- 
gagee Sale, or disposition thereof, or whether any such notices were duly 
given as aforesaid : Nor shall it be incumbent upon any such Mortgagee, 
or Purchaser, his, her, or their, heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, 
paving money to such Trustees as aforesaid, to see to the application, or 
to be answerable for the loss, misapplication, or non-application thereof, 
or any part thereof. 

28. And it is thereby declared, that the Trustees for the time 
being shall not, nor shall any of their heirs, executors, or assigns, be 
chargeable for any involuntary loss suffered by him, them, or any of them, 
nor for more money than shall come to their respective hands; nor for 
injury done by others of the said Trust premises, or any part thereof. 

29. Provided always, that in case any Trustee, or Trustees, shall 
voluntarily withdraw, or be duly excluded from being a member or mem- 
bers of the Methodist Society, and shall continue thereout, for more than 
six calendar months : Then, upon the request in writing of the other 
Trustees, or a majority of them, the Trustee or Trustees so withdrawing 
or excluded, and continuing out of Society as aforesaid, shall, at the ex- 
pense of the said 2 ''rust Fund; And upon receiving such Indemnity as 
thereinafter mentioned, relinquish the Trusts thereby created, and convey 
the said Chapel and Premises, unto the use of the continuing Trustees, 
or otherwise, as shall be directed by virtue of any Power therein after con- 
tained for creating new Trustees : And shall not thenceforth act in, or in 
anywise interfere with the execution of the Trusts thereof: Nevertheless, 
it is thereby expressly declared, that the Trustee or Trustees so with- 
drawing, or excluded, and continuing out of Society as aforesaid, shall 

* This clause is very expressive, and amounts almost to a total prohibition 
against selling the Chapel, which is not to be done unless three concurring 
units happen. In all fairness the clause should have been in the disjunction ; 
hut no, the income must be inadequate to pay the interest and expences. 
The Trustees to a man must all desire to be discharged from the burden, and 
the case must be so desperate that no one can be found to take office. All 
these counts concurring and uniting, this power of sale may be exercised ; 
but no precipitancy must be used. And although as it has been before 
hinted, the Trustees may have actions commenced against them, and be one 
and all sent to anv of his* Majesty's prisons in fourteen days, yet the Chapel 
property must no't be sold without first waiting to give notice to the Confe- 
rence. The Trustees must then wait for another six months, to see what portion , 
if any, of the burden it is the pleasure of the Conference they shall continue to 
hear." So that supposing Trustees to have actions commenced against them 
in November, they can take no step until August. Then only breathe out 
their intention of exercising this power ; and they must wait quietly and pa- 
tiently, if they can, until the following month of March, by which period, 
if in the mean time the relentless creditor who commenced his law proceed- 
ings sixteen months previously has not made them all bankrupts, they may 
sell the Chapel, providing they can find a purchaser. 



THE MODEL DEED. 293 

not be required to execute any Release as last mentioned, until the Trus- 
tees for tiie time being, or the major part of them, shall have tendered to 
him or them a Bond in a sufficient Penalty, duly executed, for indemnify- 
ing the Trustee and Trustees so withdrawing, or excluded as aforesaid, 
and each of them, and their heirs, executors and administrators, of and 
from the payment of all sums of Money, Costs, and Expenses, which he, 
they, or any of them, may be bound, or liable to pay, in respect of the 
said Trust Premises : And after the tender of such Bond of Indemnity, 
all Meetings held, and all Acts done by the other Trustees, or a majority 
of them, shall be valid and effectual to all intents and purposes. 

30. Provided always, that nothing thereinbefore contained, shall be 
construed to prevent, or disqualify, any person so withdrawing, or ex- 
cluded as aforesaid, from being at any future time appointed a Trustee of 
the said Chapel and Premises. 

31. Provided always, that upon the Decease of any Trustee, the 
surviving Trustees shall within six calendar months, after a request for 
that purpose in writing made to them, by the legal representatives of such 
deceased Trustee (but at the expense of such Representatives J, respectively 
execute a Bond, in a sufficient penalty, to indemnify such legal repre- 
sentatives, their, his, or her Lands and Hereditaments, of and from all 
Debts, Claims, and Demands whatsoever, on account, or in respect, of the 
said Chapel and Premises; or in the place of such Bond, or Obligation, 
shall and will (at the clioice and discretion of the surviving Trustees, upon 
such request, but at the expense as last aforesaid) cause or procure such 
legal Representatives to be well and effectually released, in some other 
way, of and from the said Debts, Claims, and Demands.* 

32. Provided always, that when, and so often as the Trustees shall 
by death, incapacity, or refusal to act, in the Trusts thereof, or otherwise, 
be reduced to the number of Five, then the Superintendent Preacher of 
the Circuit shall (at a meeting of the Trustees convened as aforesaid), 
nominate as many persons, being members of the Society in that and the 
neighbouring Circuits, as he shall deem to be suitable persons : And the 
old Trustees, or the major part of them, then present, shall, thereupon, 
choose and appoint, from amongst those persons so nominated, as many 
of them to be Trustees of the said Chapel and Premises as shall, with 
the continuing Trustees, make up the original number; And the said 
Chapel and Premises shall thereupon be legally conveyed to, and vested 
in, such new, and surviving, and continuing Trustees, jointly, upon such 
and the same Trusts, and for such Intents and Purposes as are therein ex- 
pressed and declared.f 

33. Provided always, that although the Trustees for the time being 
shall not be reduced to five, or if, by neglect, they shall be reduced to a 
less number than five ; Then it shall be lawful for the said Superintendent, 

* It appears from this proviso, that the Representatives of Trustees dying are 
to be at the expense of obtaining an indemnity from the liabilities of the Trust. 
Thus, after some generous and warm-hearted man has subscribed to all the 
funds of Methodism for many years, perhaps to the impoverishment of him- 
self and family, his children are to buy their freedom from further burdens. 
Unless the surviving Trustees are responsible men, the indemnity will be 
worthless ; and supposing twelve Trustees are appointed, the representatives 
of the Trustee who may happen to die first, will get the benetit of this pro- 
viso; but it is perfectly valueless to the rest, who bind themselves and their 
representatives to indemnify the deceased person. All responsibility should 
cease with the death of the Trustee. The late Mr. Butterworth, acting on 
this principle, would never sign any other than a joint promissory note. 

t Ky this clause of the Deed a power is given to the Superintendent 
Preacher to nominate as many new Trustees in case of death, or otherwise, 
as he shall think proper and desirable ; and out of this number the old Trus 
tees are bound to elect. In the former Deed, the power to choose new Trus- 
tees was divided amongst the Pieachers, Stewards, and Leaders, jointly. 



294 THE MODEL DEED. 

and the surviving Trustees, or the major part of them, present at any- 
meeting convened as aforesaid, to exercise, and execute, the Power 
therein hefore contained for the nomination and appointment of new- 
Trustees, and for the then surviving Trustees to convey the said Trust 
premises, as last af on said. 

3k Provided always, that if the Trustees, or a majority of them, 
shall judge it expedient to increase the number of Trustees, beyond the 
original number; Then it shall be lawful for the said Superintendent 
Preacher, to nominate as aforesaid, and for the Trustees, or the major 
part of them, convened as aforesaid, to choose and appoint, as therein 
before directed, for the filling up the original number of Trustees, any 
number of such persorcs nominated as aforesaid, to be Trustees of the said 
Chapel and Premises : provided they, together with the old Trustees, do 
not exceed the number of Thirty persons. And the said Chapel and 
Premises shall thereupon be legally conveyed to, and vested in, such 
continuing and new Trustees jointly, upon such Trusts, Intents, and 
Purposes, as are therein declared. 

35. Provided lastly, that it shall be lawful for the Trustees in 
Special Meeting assembled as aforesaid, or a majority of them, to bring, 
institute, or defend any Action or Suit respecting the said Trust estate 
and Premises : And also that if any Dispute shall arise between the 
Trustees, and any other person, relating to any Boundary, Privilege, 
Drain, Easement, or other matter belonging, or relating, or supposed to 
appertain, to the said Chapel and Premises, or any part thereof: Then it 
shall be lawful for, but not imperative upon, the Trustees, or a majority 
of them, in Special Meeting as aforesaid, to refer any such matter, or 
dispute,to the Arbitration of two indifferent persons, one to be chosen by 
the said Trustees, or a majority of them, and the other, by the other party 
in difference ; and the Award to be made by the said Arbitrators, under 
their Hands and Seals, subject to such Restrictions and Conditions as 
shall have been previously agreed upon by the parties in difference ; Or 
the Award of their Umpire, to be appointed by the said Arbitrators (subject 
to the restrictions aforesaid), under his hand, or hand and seal, shall be bind, 
ing, and conclusive, upon all parties, and the same may, if thought 
necessary, be made a Rule of any of His Majesty's Courts of Record.* 
In Witness, &c.t 



A PRECEDENT OF CONVEYANCE OF FREEHOLD. 

This Indenture, made the day of in the year of our Lord, 

one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, between [the Vendor] of the 
first part, [the Trustees] of the second part, and A. B. (the Superinten- 
dent Preacher for the time being of the Circuit in the Methodist Con- 
nexion, in which the piece of ground and hereditaments, hereinafter 
described, are situate,) of the third part : — 

Whereas, the said parties to these presents, of the second part, being 

* In this last Clause the Superintendent does not appear ; but the Trustees 
are instructed to bring, or defend, actions at law, or institute proceedings in 
Chancery, for the protection of Conference property. 

f It is remarkable, that throughout this Deed no mention whatever is made 
of the Rules of Pacification; but in lieu thereof the General Rules and Usages 
of Methodism are introduced Lord Eldon, in a celebrated case, declared his 
ignorance of what the term Usage meant. If any dispute should arise be- 
tween the Trustees and the people, the question will turn upon these Rules 
and Usages. Where are they to be found? In the Minutes of Conference 
from the year 1744 to the present time? Surely not; for these contradict 
themselves, and since the recent decision of the Vice Chancellor, in the case 
of Dr. Warren and the Oldham road Chapel, the question has become one of 
immense importance ; and before any member of the Society embarks his 



THE MODEL DEED. 295 

possessed of certain suras of money, intended to be laid out in the pur- 
chase of a piece of ground and hereditaments, and in erecting and build- 
ing thereon, a chapel, or place of religious worship, with such appurte- 
nances as may be thought convenient, for the use of the people called 
Methodists, to be settled to the use, upon the trusts, and in manner 
hereinafter declared and contained, or referred to, have, in pursuance of 
the said intention, contracted and agreed with the said [Vendor,] for the 
absolute purchase of the piece of ground and hereditaments hereinafter 
described and released at or for the price or sum of pounds. 

Now this Indenture witnesseth, that in pursuance of the said agree 
ment, and in consideration of the said sum of pounds of 

lawful English money, by the said persons, parties hereto of the second 
part, to the said [Vendor,] in hand, paid out of the monies in their 
hands, as aforesaid, at or before the sealing and delivery of these. 
presents, the receipt whereof he the said [Vendor,] doth hereby acknow- 
ledge, and doth hereby admit the same sum to be, the full and bona fide 
value of, and in full for the purchase of, the ground and hereditaments 
hereinafter particularly described; and from the same sum, and every 
part thereof, doth hereby acquit, release, and discharge the said parties to 
these presents of the second part, and every of them, their, and every of 
their heirs, executors, and administrators, for ever ; he, the said [Vendor,] 
with the approbation of the said A. B. Superintendent for the time being, 
as aforesaid, testified by his being a party to and executing these 
presents, hath granted, bargained, sold, aliened, released, and confirmed ; 
and by these presents doth grant, bargain, sell, alien, release, and confirm, 
unto the said parties hereto of the second part (in their actual pos- 
session now being, by virtue of a bargain and sale to them thereof 
made, by the said [Vendor,] in consideration of five shillings, by 
Indenture bearing date the day next before the day of the date of 
these presents, for the term of one whole year, commencing from 
the day next before the day of the date of the same Indenture of 
bargain and sale, and by force of the statute made for transferring uses 
into possession), and their heirs and assigns, all, <fcc, [describe accurately 
the property to be conveyed,] together with all and singular houses, 
out-houses, edifices, buildings, barns, yards, gardens, trees, woods, under- 
woods, mounds, mines, delfs, quarries, fences, hedges, ditches, sewers, 
drains, paths, passages, ways, waters, water-courses, lights, liberties, 
privileges, easements, profits, commodities, emoluments, and appurte- 
nances whatsoever, to the said piece or parcel of ground, messuage, or 
tenement, and hereditaments hereby granted and re'eased, or intended so 
to be, belonging, or in anywise appertaining, or with the same or any part 
thereof respectively, now, or at any time heretofore, held, used, occupied, 
or enjoyed, or intended so to be, or accepted, reputed, deemed, taken, or 
known, as part, parcel, or member, thereof, or of any part thereof, with 
their, and every of their appurtenances, and the reversion and reversions,, 
remainder and remainders, yearly and other rents, issues, and profits 
thereof; and all the estate, right, title, interest, inheritance, use, trust, 
property, profits, possession, claim, and demand whatsoever, both at law 
and in equity, of him the said [Vendor,] in, to, out of, and upon, the 

property in a Methodist Chapel, he should sit down patiently and reply to the 
question of what is meant by the Rules and Usages of Methodism. The Rev. 
Henry Moore, who has been a Travelling Preacher more than half a century, 
and has always been prominent amongst his brethren, defines them in one 
sense. The Vice-Chancellor has construed them in another and totally diffe- 
rent sense. It must never be forgotten, that the lay members of the Connexion 
were not consulted upon this Deed. It was entirely got up by the Conference; 
the lny members consenting to become Trustees, however, may adopt or re- 
ject it as they think proper. 



296 THE MODEL DEED. 

same premises, and in, to, and out of, every part and parcel thereof, with 
their, and every of their appurtenances : to have and to hold (he said 
piece or parcel of ground, messuage, or tenement, hereditaments, and all 
and singular other, the premises by these presents granted and released, 
or otherwise assured, or intended so to be, with their, and every of their 
appurtenances, in possession, immediately from the making hereof, and 
■without any power of revocation, reservation, trust, condition, limitation, 
clause, or agreement whatsoever, for the benefit of the said [Vendor,] or 
of any person or persons claiming under him, unto, and to the use of, 
the said parties hereto of the second part, their heirs and assigns for 
ever ; but nevertheless upon such and the same trusts, and to and fur 
such and the same ends, intents, and purposes, and with, under, and 
subject to such and the same powers, provisoes, declarations, and agree- 
ments as are expressed, contained, and declared, or referred to, in, and 
by a certain Indenture of Release bearing date on or about the third day 
of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
two, and made, or expressed to be made, between John Sutclifle, Benjamin 
Garside, Francis Farnell, John Swallow, Thomas Firth, Robert Wilson, 
Samuel Nayler, John Fearby Sutclifle, Thomas Fox Sutclifle, Charles 
Swallow, John Swallow the younger, Samuel Morley, Joseph Garside, 
accountant, William Farnell, and Joseph Garside, wood-turner, therein 
respectively described, of the first part, the Rev. George Marsden therein 
described of the second part, and James Brown therein also described 
of the third part, and enrolled in his Majesty's High Court of Chancery, 
on the twenty-fifth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
two ; being a Deed made for the settlement of a piece or parcel of ground 
and Chapel, or place of religious worship, with the appurtenances, situate 
at Skircoat, in the parish of Halifax and county of York, for the use of 
the People caller) Methodists, in the Connexion established by the late 
Rev. John Wesley : and to, for, or upon no other use, trust, intent, or 
purpose whatsoever. In witness whereof, the said parties to these 
presents, have hereunto set their hands and seals, the day and year first 
above written. 



The " Model Deed" is so constructed, as to admit of reference being 
made to it in the settlement of Copyhold and Leasehold, as well as of 
Freehold Tenures; but that, though by these means a full and efficient 
declaration of Trusts, &c, may be secured, by the insertion of a few 
words of reference, yet neither this nor any other plan can dispense with 
the requisites necessary to make a good legal conveyance of the property 
to the Trustees ; or with the strictest compliance with the statutes of 
Mortmain. Few cases arise so identical in all circumstances, as to ad- 
mit of a precedent for one being literally copied for another. The above 
precedent, therefore, though drawn in as general terms as the subjec: 
seems to admit of, will require to be adapted to the particular circum- 
stances of each case ; and the operative part varied so as to make it apply 
to the tenure of the estate (if other than freehold) to be conveyed. The 
words of reference after the Habendum will, however, in all cases, remain 
the same. Every Deed of reference must also be executed with the same 
forms of acknowledgment, attestation, &c, and must be enrolled in Chan- 
cery, as in the case of the Model Deed ; and when the conveyance is for 
a valuable consideration, a receipt for the purchase-money must be in- 
dorsed. 



297 



THE TOLERATION ACT.* 

An Act to repeal certain Acts, and amend other Acts, relating to Religious 
Worship and Assemblies, and Persons teaching or preaching therein. 
ZWih July, 1812.] 52 Geo. III. c. 155. 

I. Whereas it is expedient that certain Acts of Parliament made in the 
reign of his late Majesty King Charles the Second, relating to Non-con- 
formists and Conventicles, and refusing to take Oaths, should he repealed; 
and that the laws relating to certain Congregations and Assemblies for 
Religious Worship, and persons teaching, preaching, or officiating therein, 
and resorting thereto, should he amended ; Be it therefore enacted, by the 
King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament 
assembled, and by the authority of the same, That from and after the 
passing of this Act, an Act of Parliament made in the Session of Parlia- 
ment, held in the 13th and 14th years of his late Majesty King Charles 
the Second, intituled, " An Act for preventing the mischiefs and dangers, 
that may arise by certain persons called Quakers, and others, refusing to 
take lawful Oaths," and another Act of Parliament made in the 17th year 
of the reign of his late Majesty King Charles the Second, intituled, " An 
Act for restraining Non-conformists from inhabiting in Corporations;" 
and another Act of Parliament made in the 22d year of the reign of the 
late King Charles the Second, intituled, " An Act to prevent and suppress 
seditious Conventicles," shall be and the same are hereby repealed. 

II. And be it further enacted, That from and after the passing of this 
Act, no Congregation, or Assembly for Religious Worship of Protestants, 
(at which there shall be present more than twenty persons besides 
the immediate family and servants of the person in whose house or 
upon whose premises such Meeting, Congregation, or Assembly shall 
be had,) shall be permitted or allowed, unless and until the place of such 
Meeting, if the same shall not have been duly certified and registered 
under any former Act or Acts of Parliament relating to registering place 
of Religious Worship, shall have been or shall be certified to the Bishop 
of the Diocese, or to the Archdeacon of the Archdeaconry, or to the Jus- 
tices of the Peace, at the General or Quarter Sessions of the Peace, for 
the county, riding, division, city, town, or place, in which such Meeting 
shall be held ; and all places of Meeting which shall be so certified to the 
Bishop's or Archdeacon's court, shall be returned by such court once in 
each year to the Quarter Sessions of the county, riding, division, city, 
town, or place, and all places of Meeting which shall be so certified to 
the Quarter Sessions of the Peace shall be also returned once in each 

* It is thought proper to insert in this work, an abstract of an Act of Par- 
liament, which was obtained in the year 1812, by the prompt and vigorous 
exertions of " the Committee for guarding our Religious Privi- 
leges;" by which, not only the particular economy of the Methodist 
Societies has been protected from the most serious disabilities with which it 
was at that time threatened, but also the common interests of all denomina- 
tions of Protestant Dissenters, in respect of Religious Liberty, have been 
greatly promoted. It is particularly due to the memory of the late Joseph 
Butteruorth, Esq., and also to Thomas Allen, Esq., to record the special 
obligations under which the Religious Public are laid to those Gentlemen, for 
the zeal and ability with which they gratuitously conducted this important 
business to so successful a result. The numberof petitions presented against 
Lord Sidmouth's bill by the Methodists and Dissenters, was 620 ; one petition 
was signed by above 4,000 persons. From the shortness of the time allowed 
for getting petitions, it was not possible to procure them from places far- 
ther than 120 miles from London. At Dudley, in little morethan nine hours, 
one thousand eight hundred and ninety -nine signatures were obtained. 
o2 



298 THE TOLERATION ACT. 

year to the Bishop or Archdeacon ; and all such places shall be registered 
in the said Bishop's or Archdeacon's court respectively, and recorded at 
the said General or Quarter Sessions ; the Registrar or Clerk of the 
Peace, whereof respectively is hereby required to register and record the 
same ; and the Bishop or Registrar, "or Clerk of the Peace, to whom any 
such place of Meeting shall be certified under this Act, shall give a Cer- 
tificate thereof to such person or persons as shall request or demand the 
same, for which there shall be no greater fee nor reward taken than Two 
Shillings and Sixpence; and every Person who shall knowingly permit 
or sutler any such Congregation or Assembly as aforesaid, to meet in 
any place occupied by him, until the same shall have been so certified as 
aforesaid, shall forfeit, for every time any such Congregation or Assembly 
shall meet contrary to the provisions of this Act, a sum not exceeding 
Twenty Pounds, nor less than Twenty Shillings, at the discretion of the 
Justices who shall convict for such offence. 

III. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That every person 
who shall teach or preach in any congregation or assembly as aforesaid, 
in any place without the consent of the occupier thereof, shall forfeit for 
every such offence any sum not exceeding thirty pounds, nor less than 
forty shillings, at the discretion of the Justices who shall convict for such 
offence. 

IV. And beit further enacted, That from and after the passing of this Act, 
every person who shall teach or preach at, or officiate in, or shall resort to 
any congregation or congregations, assembly or assemblies for Religious 
Worship of Protestants, whose place of meeting shall be duly certified, ac- 
cording to the provisions of this Act, or any other Act or Acts of Parliament 
relatiug to the certifying and registering of places of Religious Worship, 
shall be exempt from all such pains and penalties under any Act or Acts 
of Parliament relating to Religious Worship, as any person who shall 
have taken the Oaths and made the Declaration prescribed by, or men- 
tioned in, an Act, made in the first year of the reign of King \N illiam 
and Queen Mary, intituled, " An Act for exempting their Majesties' 
Protestant Subjects, dissenting from the Church of England, from the 
Penalties of certain Laws," or any Act amending the said Act, is by law 
exempt, as fully and effectually as if all such pains and penalties, and the 
several Acts enforcing the same, were recited in this Act, and such ex- 
emptions as aforesaid were severally and separately enacted in relation 
thereto. 

V. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That eveiy person not 
having taken the Oaths, and subscribed the Declaration hereinafter spe- 
cified, who shall preach or teach at any place of Religious Worship cer- 
tified in pursuance of the directions of this Act, shall, when thereto re- 
quired by any one Justice of the Peace, by any writing under his hand, 
or signed by him, take and make and subscribe, in the presence of such 
Justice of the Peace, the Oaths aud Declarations specified and contained 
in an Act, passed in the nineteenth year of the reign of his Majesty 
King George the Third, intituled, "An Act for the further Relief of 
Protestant Dissenting Ministers and Schoolmasters;" and no such person 
who, upon being so required to take such Oaths and make such Declara- 
tion as aforesaid, shall refuse to attend the Justice requiring the same, or 
to take and make and subscribe such Oaths and Declaration as aforesaid, 
shall be thereafter permitted or allowed to teach or preach in any such 
congregation or assembly for Religious Worship, until he shall have 
taken such Oaths, and made such Declaration as aforesaid, on pain of for- 
feiting for every time he shall so teach or preach, any sum not exceeding 
ten pounds, nor less than ten shillings, at the discretion of the Justice 
convicting for such offence. 

VI. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That no person shall 



THE TOLERATION ACT. 299 

be required by any Justice of the Peace to go to any greater distance than 
five miles from his own home, or from the place wheie he shall be residing 
at the time of such requisition, for the purpose of taking such Oaths as 
aforesaid. 

VII. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any of his 
Majesty's Protestant subjects to appear before any one Justice of the 
Peace, and to produce to such Justice of the Peace a printed or written 
copy of the said Oaths and Declaration, and to require such Justice to 
administer such Oaths, and to tender such Declaration to be maile, taken, 
and subscribed by such Person : and thereupon it shall be lawful for such 
Justice, and he is hereby authorised and required to administer such 
Oaths, and to tender such Declaration to the person requiring to take and 
make and subscribe the same ; and such person shall take and make and 
subscribe such Oaths and Declaration in the presence of such Justice 
accordingly ; and such Justice shall attest the same to be sworn before 
him, and shall transmit or deliver the same to the Clerk of the Peace for 
the county, riding, division, city, town, or place for which he shall act as 
such Justice of the Peace, before or at the next Geueral or Quarter 
Sessions of the Peace for such county, riding, division, city, town, or 
place. 

VIII. And be it further enacted, That every Justice of the Peace be- 
fore whom any person shall make and take and subscribe such Oaths and 
Declaration as aforesaid, shall forthwith give to the Person having taken, 
made and subscribed such Oaths and Declaration, a Certificate thereof 
under the hand of such Justice, in the form following : (that is to say) 

"I, A. B. one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the county 
[riding, division, city, or town, or place, as the case may he~] of 
Do hereby certify, that C. D. of, &c. [describing the Christian and Sur- 
name, and place of abode of the party'] did this day appear before me, and 
did make and take and subscribe the several Oaths and Declaration 
specified in an Act made in the fifty-second year of the reign of King 
George the Third, intituled [set forth the title of this Act.] Witness my 
hand this day of one thousand eight hundred and ." 

And for making and signing of which Certificate, where the said Oaths 
and Declaration are taken and made on the requisition of the party taking 
and making the same, such Justice shall be entitled to demand and have 
a fee of two shillings and sixpence, and no more : And such Certificate 
shall be conclusive evidence that the party named therein has made and 
taken the Oaths and subscribed the Declaration in manner required by 
this Act. 

IX. And be it further enacted, That every person who shall teach or 
preach in any such congregation or assembly, or congregations or assem- 
blies as aforesaid, who shall employ himself solely in the duties of a teacher 
or preacher, and not follow or engage in any trade or business, or other 
profession, occupation, or employment, for his livelihood, except that of a 
schoolmaster, and who shall produce a Certificate of some Justice of the 
Peace, of his having taken and made and subscribed the Oaths and De- 
claration aforesaid, shall be exempt from the civil services and offices 
specified in the said recited Act passed in the first year of King William 
and Queen Mary, and from being balloted to serve and from serving in 
the militia or local militia of any county, town, parish, or place, in any 
part of the United Kingdom. 

X. And be it further enacted, That every person who shall produce any 
false or untrue certificate or paper, as and for a true certificate of his 
haviug made and taken the Oaths and subscribed the Declaration by this 
Act required, for the purpose of claiming any exemption from civil or 
military duties as aforesaid, under the provisions of this or any other Act 
or Acts of Parliament, shall forfeit for every such offence the sum of fifty 



300 THE TOLERATION ACT. 

pounds ; which penalty may be recovered by and to the use of any person 
who will sue for the same, by any Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Infor- 
mation, in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record at Westminster, or the 
Courts of Great Sessions in Wales, or the Courts of the counties palatine 
of Chester, Lancaster, and Durham (as the case shall require) : wherein 
no Essoign, Privilege, Protection, or Wager of Law, or more than one 
Imparlance shall be allowed. 

XI. And be it further enacted, That no meeting, assembly, or congre- 
gation of persons for Religious Worship, shall be had in any place with 
the door locked, bolted, or barred, or otherwise fastened, so as to prevent 
any persons entering therein during the time of any such meeting, assem- 
bly, or congregation; and the person, teaching or preaching, at such 
meeting, assembly, or congregation, shall forfeit, for every lime any such 
meeting, assembly, or congregation, shall be held with the door locked, 
bolted, barred, or otherwise fastened as aforesaid, any sura not exceeding 
twenty pounds, nor less than forty shillings, at the discretion of the 
Justices convicting for such offence. 

XII. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons at any 
time after the passing of this Act, do and shall wilfully and maliciously 
or contemptuously disquiet or disturb any meeting, assembly, or congre- 
gation of persons assembled for Religious Worship permitted or authorised 
by this Act, or any former Act or Acts of Parliament, or shall in any way 
disturb, molest, or misuse any preacher, teacher, or person officiating at 
such meeting, assembly, or congregation, or any person or perse ns there 
assembled, such person or persons so offending, upon proof thereof before 
any Justice of the Peace by two or more credible witnesses, shall find 
two sureties to be bound by recognizances in the penal sum of fifty pounds 
to answer for such offence, and in default of such sureties shall be com- 
mitted to prison, there to remain till the next General or Quarter Ses- 
sions; and upon conviction of the said offence at the said General or 
Quarter Sessions, shall suffer the pain and penalty of forty pounds. 

XIII. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That nothing in this 
Act contained shall affect or be construed to afi'ect the celebration of 
divine service, according to the riles and ceremonies of the united Church 
of England and Ireland, by ministers of the said church, in any place 
hitherto used for such purpose, or being now or hereafter duly con- 
secrated orlicensed by any Archbishop or. Bishop, or other person lawfully 
authorized to consecrate or license the same, or to affect the Jurisdiction 
of the Archbishops or Bishops, or other persons exercising lawful 
authority in the Church of the United Kingdom, over the said church, 
according to the rules and discipline of the same, and to the Laws and 
Statutes of the Realm ; but such jurisdiction shall remain and continue 
as if this Act had not passed. 

XIV. Provided also, and be it further enacted, That nothing in this 
Act contained shall extend or be construed to extend to the People usually 
called Q. akers, nor to any Meetings or Assemblies for Religious Wor- 
ship, held or convened by such persons ; or in any manner to alter, or 
repeal, or affect any act, other than and except the Acts passed in the 
reign of King Charles the Second hereinbefore repealed, relating to the 
people called Quakers, or relating to any Assemblies or Meetings for 
Religious Worship held by them. 

XV. And be it further enacted, That every person guilty of any offence, 
for which any pecuniary penally or forfeiture is imposed by this Act, in 
respect of which no speck-d provision is made, shall and may be coTivieled 
thereof by information upon the oath of any one or more credible witness 
or witnesses before any two or more Justices of the Peace acting in and 
for the county, riding, city, or place, wherein such offence shall be com- 
mitted; and that all and every the pecuniary penalties or forfeitures 



THE TOLERATION ACT. 301 

which shall be incurred or become payable for any offence or offences 
against fhfs Act, shall and may be levied by distress under the hand and 
seal, or hands and seals of two Justices of the Peace for the county, 
riding, city, or place, in which any such offence or offences was or were 
committed, or where the forfeiture or forfeitures was or were, incurred, and 
shall, when levied, be paid one moiety to the informer, and the other moie:y 
to the poor of the parish in which the offence was committed ; and in case 
of no sufficient distress whereby to levy the penalties, or any or either of 
them imposed by this Act. it shall and may be lawful for anv such Justices 
respectively before whom the offender or offenders shall be convicted, to 
commit such offender to prison, for such time, not exceeding three months, 
as the said Justices in their discretion shall think fit. 

XVI. And he it further enacted, That in case any person orpeisons 
who shall hereafter be convicted of any of the offences punishable by this 
Act, shall conceive him, her, or themselves to be aggrieved by such con- 
viction, then and in every such case it shall and may be lawful for such 
person or persons respectively, and he, she, or they shall or may appeal 
to the General or Quarter Sessions of the Peace holden next after such 
conviction in and for the county, riding, city, or place, giving unto the 
Justices before whom such conviction shall be made, notice in writing 
within eight days after any such conviction, of his, her, or their intention 
to prefer such Appeal ; and the said Justices in their said General or 
Quarter Sessions shall and may, and they are hereby authorized and em- 
powered to proceed to the hearing and determination of the matter of such 
Appeal, and to make such order therein, and to award such costs to be 
paid by and to either party, not exceeding forty shillings, as they in their 
discretion shall think fit. 

XVII. And be it further enacted, That no penalty or forfeiture shall 
be recoverable under this Act, unless the same shall be sued for, or the 
offence in respect of which the same is imposed, is prosecuted before the 
Justices of the Peace or Quarter Sessions, within six months after the 
offence shall have been committed; and no person who shall suffer any 
imprisonment for non-payment of any penalty, shall thereafter be liable 
to the payment of such penalty or forfeiture. 

XVIII. And be it further enacted, That if any Action or Suit shall be 
brought or commenced against any person or persons for any thing done 
in pursuance of this Act, that every such Action or Suit shall be com- 
menced within three months next after the fact committed, and not after- 
wards, and shall be laid and brought in the county wherein the cause or 
alledged cause of Action shall have accrued, and not elsewhere ; and the 
defendant or defendants in such Action or Suit may plead the General 
Issue, and give this Act, and the special matter on evidence on any Trial 
to be had thereupon, and that the same was done in pursuance and by 
authority of this Act ; and if it shall appear so to be done, or if any such 
Action or Suit shall be brought after the time so limited for bringing the 
same, or shall be brought in any other county, city, or place, that then and 
in such case the jury shall find for such defendant or defendants ; and upon 
such verdict, or if the plaintiff or plaintiffs shall become nonsuited, or 
discontinue his, her, or their Action or Actions, or if a verdict shall pass 
against the plaintiff or plaintiffs, or if upon demurrer, judgment shall be 
given against the plaintiff or plaintiffs, the defendant or defendants shall 
have and may recover treble costs, and have the like remedy for the same, 
as any defendant or defendants hath or have for costs of Suit in other 
Cases by Law. 

XIX. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall be deemed and 
taken to be a Public Act, and shall be judicially taken notice of as such 
by all Judges, Justices, and others, without specially pleading the same. 



302 
CASE OF MR. J. R. STEPHENS.* 

The following documents contain the Case of Mr. J. R. Stephens, 
as brought before the Conference by the Manchester District- Meeting, 
with the Proceedings of that Meeting in reference to it ; and also the 
Judgment of the Conference on the Appeal of Mr. Stephens from 
the decision of the said District-Meeting. 

I. THE REPORT OF THE DISTRICT MEETING. 

CASE. 

1. That Brother J. R. Stephens has attended four public Meetings, 
held at Ashton-under-Line, Hyde, Oldham, and Staley Bridge, one of the 
avowed objects of which Meetings was, to obtain the total separation of the 
Church and the State ; and that at these Meetings he delivered speeches, 
expressive of his approbation of that object. 

2. That at the Ashton Meeting the terms " Wesleyan Methodists of 
Ashton-under-Line," were, on his motion, introduced into the preamble 
of a memorial, complaining of certain practical grievances of Dissenters. 

3. That he announced from the pulpit that a Town s Petition, praying 
for a separation of the Church and the State, lay for signatures in the ves- 
try of the chapel. 

4. That he has accepted an appointment to the office of Corresponding 
Secretary to a Society called the " Church-Separation Society for Ashton- 
under-Line and the neighbouring district." 

The above-mentioned facts were admitted by Brother Stephens. 

5. That he has thus acted without consulting his Superintendent, and 
contrary to his example and expressed opinion. 

The whole case having been solemuly and impartially considered, the 
following Resolutions were unanimously adopted by the Meeting : — 

1. That in these proceedings Brother Stephens has flagrantly -violated 
the peaceable and anti-sectarian spirit of Wesleyan Methodism so 
strongly enjoined in the writings of our Founder, enforced by repeated 
acts of the Conference since his decease, and required as a necessary 
qualification of every Methodist Preacher, particularly in that epitome of 
his pastoral duties contained in the Minutes of 1820, and directed, by a 
standing order of the Conference, to be read in every Annual District- 
Meeting, as solemnly binding on every Minister in our Connexion. 

2. That the above-mentioned speeches of Brother Stephens are directly 
at variance with the general sentiments of Mr. Wesley and the Confer- 
ence, aud are distinguished by a spirit highly unbecoming a Wesleyan 
Minister, and inconsistent with those sentiments of respect and affection 
towards the Church of England which our Connexion has, from the be- 
ginning, openly professed and honourably maintained. 

* This case is taken from the Minutes of Conference for 1834. The reader 
is desired to compare the proceedings adopted against Mr. J. R. Stephens 
with the following Minutes of Conference of 1744 : — 

" Q. How far does each of us agree to submit to the judgment of the ma- 
jority ? 

" A. In speculative things, each can only submit so far as his judgment 
shall be convinced. In every practical point, each will submit so far 
as he can without wounding his conscience. 

" Q. Can a Christian, submit any farther than this, to any man or number 
of men upon earth ? 

" A. It is undeniable he cannot: either to council, bishop, or convocation. 
And this is that grand principle of private judgment, on which all the Re- 
formers proceeded. ( Every man must judge for himself; because every man 
must give an account of himself to God,' " 



CASE OF MR. J. R. STEPHENS. 



303 



3. Thai, as far as his influence extends, Brother Stephens has com- 
mitted the character of the Connexion on a question involving its public 
credit as well as its internal tranquillity ; and that he has manifested a 
«reat want of deference to the recorded opinions of his Fathers and 
Brethren in the ministry, and a recklessness of consequences as to him 
self and others, by the very active and prominent part which he has taken 
in the aggressive proceedings adopted by the Meetings before referred to. 

4. That he has endangered the peace, and acted prejudicially to the 
spirituality of the Connexion, by giving occasion to the introduction, 
amongst our people, of unprofitable disputations on Ecclesiastical Poli- 
tics, thus violating the directions of the last Conference in its "Pastoral 
Address" to the Societies, which Brother Stephens, as well as every other 
Methodist Preacher, was bound, by his example at least, toenforce. — (See 
Minutes for 1833, p. 115.) 

5. That Brother Stephens, in accepting the office of Corresponding 
Secretary to the Ashton Church-Separation Society, has acted contrary 
to his peculiar calling and solemn engagements as a Methodist Preacher. 

6. That the culpability of these proceedings is aggravated by the fact, 
that they were pursued by Brother Stephens without consultation with 
his Superintendent, and contrary to his example and expressed opinion. 

7. That Brother Stephens be authoritatively required to resign his 
office as Secretary to the Church-Separation Society, and to abstain, until 
the next Conference, from taking any part in the proceedings of that So- 
ciety, or of any other Society or Meeting having a kindred object : and 
that, in the event of a violation of this injunction, he be forthwith sus- 
pended until the Conference, and that his Superintendent give immediate 
notice to the Chairman of the District, that the President may supply his 
place in the Ashton Circuit. 

The above Resolutions having been read to Brother Stephens, he de- 
clared that, on the finding of the second and third, he could not acknow- 
ledge the authority of the Meeting, and that he would not resign his office 
of Corresponding Secretary to the Church-Separation Society of Ashton- 
under-Line. 

He is, therefore, now suspended from the exercise of his ministiy until 
the next Conference. 

8. That Brother Stephens be required forthwith to remove from the 
Ashton-under-Line Circuit, and that the Chairman be requested to write 
to the President for a supply. 

II. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CONFERENCE. 

Mr. Stephens having been heard at length in support of his Appeal 
against the decision of his District-Meeting, the Conference, after due 
deliberation, resolved as follows : — 

1. That the Facts of the Case, as stated by the District-Meeting, were 
proved at the time by Mr. Stephens's own admission, or by sufficient evi- 
dence ; which evidence has since received, in the presence of the Con- 
ference, and of Mr. Stephens himself, additional confirmation. 

2 That the General Views of the Case, as recorded in the 1st, 2d, 3d, 
4th, 5th, and 6th Resolutions of the District-Meeting, are approved by the 
Conference. 

3. That the First Decision of the District-Meeting (Article 7) (which with- 
out requiring from Mr. Stephens any um-easonable sacrifice of the right of 
private judgment, or any public renunciation of his peculiar opinions, only 
demanded his resignation of the office of Secretary to the Church-Separa- 
tion Society, and his entire abstinence, until the direction of the Confer- 
ence could be obtained, from all overt acts of hostility against the 
Religious Establishment of our country), has the approbation of the Con- 
ference, and ought, in its judgment, to have been submitted to by Mr. 
Stephens. 



304 CASE OF MR. J. R. STEPHENS. 

4. That the ulterior proceeding of the District- Meeting (Art. 7, last 
clause, and Art. 8) in suspending Mr. Stephens, until the meeting of this 
Conference was, in the judgment of this Conference, a proper measure 
of discipline, required, under such circumstances, by a regard to the 
established principles, professions, and usages of our Connexion, and 
rendered unavoidable by Mr. Stephens's declining on very insufficient 
grounds, to meet the just requirement of the District, by abstaining in 
his public conduct from further proceeding in the course which he had 
previously adopted. 

On the whole — As to the past : — 

1. The Conference confirms the Minutes of the Manchester District- 
Meeting. 

As to the future : — 

2. The Conference now requires from Mr. Stephens a distinct pledge, 
not in reference to any peculiarities of private opinion, but of his readi- 
ness to meet, as a Wesleyan Methodist Minister, the wishes of hisbrethren, 
and to consult the peace and good order of the Connexion, by strictly re- 
fraining from all future proceedings similar in character and spirit to those 
which have been so justly offensive in the past year, and to devote him- 
self wholly to his proper work and calling; and, on giving this pledge, 
Mr. Stephens shall be restored to his place in our body. 

3. The Conference resolves, that if Mr. Stephens now refuse this 
pledge, his suspension shall be continued till the meeting of the Confer- 
ence in 183-3, in the hope that reflection and advice will induce him then 
to make such conce-sions as will prevent the otherwise unavoidable termi- 
nation of his ministerial connexion with us. 

4. In that case, whenever Mr. Stephens shall forward to our President, 
in writing, the distinct pledge as to his future conduct, required by the 
preceding Resolution, the President shall be at liberty to place him in a 
Circuit, on the occurrence of the first suitable vacancy. 

The judgment of the Conference in confirmation of the Minutes of 
the District-Meeting, and the pledge now required of Mr. Stephens by 
the Conference as the condition of his immediate restoration, were read 
and explained to him. He requested time for consideration, aud that a 
Committee might he appointed to converse with him privately on the 
subject; which request was readily granted, and the proposed conversa- 
tion was accordingly held. On the next day, Mr. Stephens announced 
to the Conference that he could not, under the circumstances, feel him- 
self at liberty to give the pledge required of him ; and therefore resigned 
his place in our body. Upon this announcement, the Conference finally 
resolved to accept his resignation. 

The Conference takes this opportunity of declaring its grateful satis- 
faction with the peaceable spirit and conduct of the very great majority 
of our Preachers and People, in reference to certain questions of national 
polity, which have been agitated during the past year ; and earnestly ex- 
horts our Societies to a steadfast perseverance in the same course, as 
being most conducive to their own spiritual prosperity, and to the tran- 
quillity, reputation, and general usefulness of our Connexion. 

The Conference, however, has learned with surprise and deep regret, 
that, in two or three cases, our Chapels have been used for the purpose 
of public Meetings having more or less of a political object and character; 
and expresses its strongest disapprobation of any such appropriation of our 
places of worship. 

In reference to the Memorials, transmitted by certain individuals in 
several Circuits, on the proceedings of the Manchester District-Meeting 
in the case of Mr. Stephens, the Conference only deems it necessary to 
record its conscientious determination not to allow its faithful exercise of 



CASE OF MR. J. R. STEPHENS. 305 

discipline upon the Ministers with whom it holds communion, and for 
whose public character and conduct it is responsible to the Connexion 
and to the grea't Head of the Church, to be interrupted or prevented by 
the interference of persons, however respectable and estimable, whose in- 
formation as to the facts of these cases must of necessity be exceedingly- 
defective and partial. And the Conference regrets that any of our 
friends should have been betrayed into such unwarrantable censures of 
absent parties, and premature announcements of opinion on matters not 
yet finally decided by the tribunals to which, according to the established 
rules and usages of our Connexion, they properly belong. See Minutes 
of 1828, vol. vi.,pp. 400, 401, 8vo. edition. 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Address, Pastoral, from the Confer- 
ence to the Societies, to be annually 
printed, 53— to be read in all the Con- 
gregations, 53 ; in the Societies, 104 — 
a Copy of the, to be given to every 
Steward, Local Preacher, and Class 
Leader, 10S— to be published in the 
Minutes of Conference and Magazine, 
53 

American Book-Room, exchange of 
publications between the, and the Eu- 
ropean Book-Room, 55, 240 

American Conference, resolutions of 
the British concerning the, 54, 55 — 
intercourse opened with the, 54 

Annuitant Society, Methodist Preach- 
ers'. See Fund, Preachers' 

Assistants, the qualifications and 
business of, 30, 31 — the office of, neg- 
lected, 31— miscellaneous advices given 
to, 31 

Auxiliary Fund. See Fund, Aux- 
iliary 

Backsliders, to be attended to, 76 

Bands, how to revive and extend, 
96-97— Members exhorted to meet in, 
103 — Preachers to hold general meet- 
ings of the, 103 — Lovefeasts for mem- 
bers of the, to be occasionally held, 
97, 176 

Band Meetings to be restored and 
enforced, 92— how to revive and ex- 
tend, 96-97, 175, 176-niode of conduct- 
ing, 1/3, 174 — not to be held without 
the Superintendent's approbation, 92, 
180 

Bands, Public, to be established and 
preserved, 97 

Bands, Public- and Private, to be 
revived and promoted, 75, 76 

Band Societies, origin of the, 173— 
rules of the, 173-176; especially on 
dress, to be insisted upon, 20 



Bankruptcies, how to prevent scan- 
dal from, 21, £2, lUl, 165, 166 

Baptism to be administered in pub- 
lic, ISO; in general, only to the children 
of members, and those of regular 
hearers, ISO — fees for administering, 
how to be disposed of, 180— subject to 
the same rules as Lord's Supper 163 — 
administration of, regulations con- 
cerning, 111, 141-142, 162.-164 

Barbers shaving on the Lord's-day, 
to lie excluded from the Society, 93, 164 

Basis, Only, of the Methodist Con- 
nexion, 155 

Baxter's " Gildas Silvianus " recom- 
mended to the Preachers, 16; extract 
from, 16 — plan to be followed, 26 

Benson's Bible, to be provided for 
chapel vestries and Preachers' houses, 
98 — recommended to all the Preachers, 
99 

Bigotry censured, 47 

Books, lists of, to be prepared and 
published, 238— not to be re-printed 
without the sanction of the Book- 
Committee, 234 — none but those pub- 
lished by Book- Room to be advertised 
or sold at chapels, 23S— recommended 
to be ordered through the Book Room, 
90— to be paid for on delivery, 102, 
i;39 — concerning the sale and return 
of, 238 — detailed account of, to be 
annually sent by Superintendents to 
the Book-Steward, 99, 23S — accounts 
for, to be settled annually, 101-192, 
23S, 239— money for, to be regularly re- 
mitted, 101, 102, 238, 239— concerning 
the appropriation of the profits of the, 
239 

Book-Committee. See Committee, 
Book 

Book-Committee, Sub-Committee of. 
See Committee- Book, Sub-Committee 
of 



SOS 



INDEX. 



Book-Room, the, 231 240— revisal of 
the rules of, 231 — preamble of the old 
rules of, 231 -233— controlled by Confer- 
ence, 149 — Editor of the, rules con- 
cerning the, 235-236, 237 — concerning 
the publications of the. 237-238— to 
exchange publications with American 
Book- Room. 24u— the depository oi 
important documents, 235— privileges 
of the Preachers in respect of the, 239 
— disposable profits of, to be certified to 
Conference, 239; how to be appropri- 
ated, 239, 210 

Book Steward, rules concerning the. 
236-237 — to execute a bond on entrance 
upon office, 236 — to give a Bond for 
6000/. to Treasurer of Preachers' Fund, 
223— not to borrow money without the 
consent of the Book Committee, 234 — 
to preserve property committed to his 
trust, 236— restricted in the purchase 
of books, 234 — not to receive or pay 
any monies on account of the Contin- 
gent fund, 188 — to pay annually 1000/. 
to the Treasurer of the Contingent 
Fund, 193— to advance 2000/. annually 
to the Treasurer of the Contingent Fund, 
193 — to allow Preachers a discount 
upon books purchased for their own 
use, 239 ; a commission on all their 
sales of bot/ks, 239 ; to purchase Ben- 
son's Commentary for their own use at 
half price, 72, 99 ; his notes on the 
New Testament at 4s. per part, 99 — to 
return to Preachers received into full 
connexion, the purchase-money for 
Wesley's Notes and Sermons, 239 — to 
send a copy of every work published 
at the Bcok-Rcom, to the School li- 
braries, 234; annually, to Superinten- 
dents, the rules and regulations of the 
Book-Room, 237 ; to Irish Preachers a 
copy of the Minutes of Conference, 
237 — to lay monthly and quarterly 
accounts of assets and liabilities before 
the Book-Committee, 234; annually, 
before Conference, a stalementof the 
Book-Room assets and liabilities, 237 — 
with the concurrence of the Book- Com- 
mittee, to make agreements with print- 
ers, 236; to employ tradesmen and ar- 
tisans, 236— in conjunction with print- 
er, to purchase paper, 236 — to take 
stock annually, 236 — directions to, con- 
cerning the valuation of stock, 236- 
237— period of holding the office of, 
limited to ten years, 237 — concerning 
the salary of, 237 

Burial subject to same regulations 
as Lord's- Supper, 163 

Calling names forbidden, 47 
Calvinism a direct antidote to Me- 
thodism, 42-43 — wherein lie the charms 
of, 43 — how to guard against, 43 — 
wherein the Methodists have leaned 
too much towards, 43 



Canada, union of the British Confer- 
ence with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church of, 57 

Catechetical Exercises to be used in 
Sunday schools, 253 

Catechisms to be prepared, 77 

Chapels, 241-244 — "to be properly 
settled before the Preachers occupy 
them, 94, 241 —to be settled on the 
Conference Plan, 70-71 — concerning 
service in, in church hours, 161-162 
— to be furnished with hassocks or 
kneeling boards, ISO— to be provided 
with Benson's Bible, 98 — none but 
the Book-Room Hymn-books to be 
used in, 179 — Supplement to the 
Hymn-book to be used in all the, 182 — 
Wesley's ■* Psalms and Hymns" recom- 
mended to be used in, onLord's-day fore- 
noon, 1S2— no books to be advertised or 
sold at, but those which are published 
at the Book- Room, 238 — no anthems to 
be sungin, 177 — oratorios in, forbidden, 
179 — bands of music in, discouraged, 
1 78 — theatrical singing in, discouraged, 
178 — singing of pieces in, lorbidden, 
IT9 — no instrumental music, except a 
bass viol, to be introduced in, 179 — 
singing in, after service, forbidden, 181 
—standing while singing in, enjoined, 
180 — sitting during prayer in, con- 
demned, ISO — indecency against, to be 
reproved, 39— building expensive, to 
be avoided. 241 — building of, to be sanc- 
tioned by Quarterly Meetings, and ap- 
proved by District Meeting, 243; sanc- 
tion for, by three Superintendents, dis- 
continued, 204 — not to be built without 
the sanction of the Financial District 
Meeting, or Annual District M?eting, 
20:1 — how to prevent the imprudent 
erection of, 40-242, 243 — not to be 
built, purchased, or enlarged, without 
the consent of the Chapel-Building 
Committee, 243 — respecting grants for 
building, from the Chapel Fund, 200— 
public meetings in, for political pur- 
poses, disapproved of, 304 

Chapel Brighouse,]a\f-suit respecting, 
49 

Chapel-Building Committee. See 
Committee, Chapel-Building. 

Chapel Circuit Schedules only, to be 
presented to District Meetings, 201 — 
form of the, 201-202 

Chapel, City-Road, law-suit respect- 
ing, 49 

Ciapel Deeds, how to be executed 
and enrolled. 241 — abstracts from, to be 
entered in a book provided for that pur- 
pose, 94, 241 — of embarrassed chapels, 
to be produced at District Meetings, 
in order to ascertain that they are pro- 
perly secured to the Connexion, o2 — 
forms of, 273-283 

Chapel Deed, Model, adoption of the, 
by the Conference, 56, e-14 — recom- 



INDEX. 



309 



mended to the Connexion at large, 2U 
— a copy of the, to be sent to every 
Circuit, 214— summary of the proceed- 
ings of the Committee on the, 284-280 
—abstract of the, 286-293 

Chapels, Embarrassed, not to receive 
relief, unless built with the consent of 
the Chapel-Building Committee, 196 — 
recommended to be cleaned by gratui- 
tous labour, 196,198; regular anniver- 
sary sermons and collections for, re- 
commended, 196; not to be relieved 
without the adoption of, for them, 198 
— private subscriptions to reduce the 
debts of, to be made, 196— lighting and 
repairs, &c, of, to he defrayed by local 
exertions, 198 — mode of ascertaining 
the state of, claiming relief, 197- 198 — 
not to be relieved unless they have an 
annual collection for the Chapel Fund, 
200 — Trustees of, not subscribing 
at least one guinea annually to the 
Chapel Fund from their trust estates, 
excluded from relief, 198 — excluded 
from relief, for which contributions are 
solicited irregularly, and without the 
sanction of Conference, 199 — relief of, 
dependent upon amount of rents for 
premises attached to, and anniversary 
collections, 202-203— rate of seat rents 
to be fair and equitable, and regularly 
collected before relief can be granted 
to, 199 — loans for, on mortgages, rules 
concerning, 21)3-204 — assistance for, to 
be solicited from Trustees of other 
chapels in the Circuit that are free 
from debt, 204— cases of, to be entered 
in a book for the use of the Chapel- 
Fund Committee, 198— Trust Deeds of 
new cases of, to be produced at the 
District Meeting, 82, 200— limitation of 
grants for, from the Chapel Fund, 200 
— occupied as Sunday Schools to re- 
ceive a suitable rent on that account, 
84, 107,202-203 

Chapel-Fund. See Fund, Chapel 

Chapel-Fund Committee. See Com- 
mittee, Chapel Fund 

Chapel Loan Fund Committee. See 
Committee, Chapel Loan Fund 

Chapel-Schedules, to be signed by the 
Superintendent, 105-106 — duplicates 
of, to be annually sent to Chairmen of 
Districts, from Chapels which have" 
been relieved, 84, 201 — to be prepared 
and sent to Trustees, 197— additional 
questions to be inserted in, 197-198, 
205— directions forfilling up, 197-199 

Children, Preachers'. See Preachers' 
Children 

Christian Minister, office of a, 22 

Christian Perfection, doctrine of, 26S 

Church Hours, service in. 161 — cases 
in which service may be held in, 161- 
162 

Circuits, how many in 1789, 39 — 
how to account for the declension of 



the work of God in, 37— with only one 
Travelling Preacher, disapproved, 65 
—not to have more Preachers than 
they can support, 97, 1S4— proposals 
from, for additional Preachers, to be 
allowed in lull Conference, 64 — peti- 
tioning for any Preacher, to bear the 
expenses incurred by his removal, 170- 
171— applying foradditional Preachers, 
urged to support the School Fund, 210- 
211 — not to receive from the Contin- 
gent Fund, unless they provide their 
full quota of Children's Allowances, 
82, 219— grants to, from the Contingent 
Fund, to be proportioned to the amount 
of the Yearly Collection, 189-190; sur- 
plus of, tobe returned to Conference, 187 
— regularly to provide for all the 
Preachers'children born duringthe year 
219— to purchase and preserve copies of 
the " Model Deed," 56, 241— deficien- 
cies of, rule concerning the, 69, 185- 
186,189-190-billsfrom,req.tiringrelief, 
to be approved by Quarterly Meetings, 
170 ; to be signed by the Circuit Stew- 
ards, 170 — to raise annually one guinea 
for the Auxiliary Fund, 228— altera- 
tions and divisions of how to be made, 
69, 95, 146, 170 -regulations on the di- 
visions of, 109-110— under what restric- 
tions to be divided, 184-185 — obituary 
registers to be kept in, 90 — annual 
accounts of deaths in, to be inserted 
in the January Magazine, 90 

Circuit Schedules to be pniduced at 
District Meetings, 85, 108, J 11 

Class Leaders. See Leaders 

Class Meetings. See Meetings 

Collection, July, establishment of, 
52, 53— disposal of, 52, 53— address to 
Congregations concerning, to be pre- 
pared, 53—rio part of the, to be retained 
by the Preachers, to pay their own de- 
ciencies, 101 

Collections, Public, regulations re- 
specting, 99— abroad, to be made as at 
home, 129— irregular and unauthorised 
forbidden, 94, 199 

Collection, Yearly, proposal to raise 
for the, one shilling per member, 97, 
184 — under the control of Quarterly 
Meetings, 149— increase of the, in par- 
ticular Districts, how to be disposed of, 
19 1 — a letter concerning the, to be sent 
to every Leader, 99-100 — to be made 
at the March visitation of the classes, 
109; on the Foreign Stations as at 
home, 128— accounts of the, to be pub- 
lished annually, 146 

Committee, Auxiliary Fund. See 
Fund, Auxiliary 

Committee, Booh, rules concerning 
the, 233-235— constitution of the, 233 
— how often to meet, 233— members 
of the, when to be fined, 233-234 ; 
o have access to the Book-room Ac- 
count books and premises, 234 ; may 



310 



INDEX. 



impeach the Editor or Book Steward, 
if deemed incompetent or unfaithful. 
234-235— to appoint a sub-committee, 
233— ordered to print a new edition of 
Wesley's "Abridgment of the Litur- 
gy," 182 — empowered to purchase copy- 
Tights, 238— restricted in the purchase 
of copyrights, 238 

Committee Book, Sub- Committee of, 
to examine vouchers and entries, 233, 
and accounts, annually, befi re the sit- 
ting of Conference, 239 — veto of, on 
advertisements for the Magazine, 233 

Committee, Chapel-Building, ap- 
pointment of the, 242— how often to 
meet, 243, 244 — how many members 
of, to form a quorum, 244 — form of ap- 
plication to, lor permission to build, 
242 — consent of the, to be obtained 
prior to purchase, erection, or enlarge- 
ment of any chapel, 243 — cases to be 
sanctioned by the, 107 — not to sanc- 
tion any application, unless approved 
hy the Quarterly Meeting, and recom- 
mended by the District Meeting, 243 — 
Secretary of the, to register cases sanc- 
tioned by it, 243 — to request Trustees to 
whom they give permission to build, 
to subscribe to the Chapel Fund, 244 
— to send a copy of the conditions on 
which to sanction the building of cha- 
pels to applicants, &c, 244 — letters to 
the, to be post-paid, 243 

Committee, Chapel Loan Fund, 204- 
205 

Committee, Missionary. See Missi- 
onary Society 

Committee, Chapel-Fund, Composi- 
tion of the, 195,203 — all cases to be 
presented to the, in writing, 197 ; or 
through a member of it, 198— to allow 
only common interest to meet annui- 
ties, 200— to receive only Circuit sche- 
dules of chapels, for which assistance 
is requested, 82, 201 — a local, to be an- 
nually appointed in each Circuit, 203 

Committee, Children's Fund. See 
Fund, Children's 

Committee, Contingent Fund. See 
Fund, Contingent 

Committee of City - road Chapel. 
London, and King-street Chapel, Bath, 
resign their power to Conference, 11 

Committee, Stationing, 63-66 — for- 
mation of the, 63— -only to station such 
Preachers as they find on the Minutes 
of the preceding year, 64 — appoint- 
ments of Preachers on trial by the, to he 
final,64— to regard no letters concerning 
stations, but such as come from the 
majorities of regular Quarterly Meet- 
ings, 63 — to adopt provisionally, into 
their plan, all proposed divisions of 
Circuits, 64— one of the Missionary 
Secretaries to be a member of the, 65 
— President and Secretary of Confe- 
rence ex officio, members of the, 65 ; 



regulations respecting their attendance 
on the, 65-66 

Committee for Guarding Religious 
Privileges, 4S-50 

Conference, the, 1-62 — Hundred 
Preachers the only legal members of 
the, 4, 143— engage strictly to follow 
the plan left by Mr. Wesley at his 
death, 46 — method of proceeding with 
the business of the, 37- how to im- 
prove the time of the, and render it 
useful, 13— how to expedite the busi- 
ness of the, 50, 51, S6— alteration in 
the time of commencing the sittings 
and method of transacting the business 
of the, 53 -54 — attendance of the Preach- 
ers at the, 69 70-72-73 — regulations 
concerning the debates of the, 51— one 
day's notice of motions in the, to be 
given, 52— journals and ledgers of the, 
where to be kept, ad interim, 48 — su- 
preme and independent power of the, 
149— plan for preaching during the, to 
be prepared, 46, 111— control of the 
Book- Room vested in the, 149 — to 
apportion the disposable profits of 
the Book -Room, 239-240— judgment 
of the, concerning the general disci- 
pline of the Connexion, 155 ; on 
the resolution of the Jamaica Mis- 
sionaries, 134-135 ; on Mr. J. R. Ste- 
phens's Case, 302-304; against Camp 
Meetings, ISO— resolutions of the, on 
hearing Mr. Wesley's letter addressed 
to them, 9 ; on an address from the 
Quarterly Meeting of the London 
South Circuit, 154-155 ; respecting 
laymen applying for licences to preach, 
169-170— consent of the, necessary to 
the administration of Baptism and* the 
Lord's Supper, 162 -to appoint the 
time and manner of administering the 
Lord's Supper, 163— organs not to be 
used without the leave of the, 182 — 
to decide when Preachers shall be 
declared superannuated, 225 — pro- 
vision for the accuracy of the an- 
nual accounts and Minutes of the, 
185 — Committees preparatory to the, 
when to meet, 55 56— not to confirm 
any new rule for one year, 150— an- 
nual address from the, to the societies, 
to be published, 53 

Conference, Irish, same Preacher 
not to preside in the, two years succes- 
sively, 45— interdicts female preach- 
ing, 178 -refuses to adopt the Plan of 
Pacification, .141 

Conference, President of the. See 
President 

Conference, Secretary of the. See 
Secretary 

Dancing Masters not to be employed 
in schools or private houses, 164 

Daughters of Preachers, allowance 
for, 88, 206 



INDEX. 



311 



Debts, imprudent, forbidden, 164 

Deeds, Chapel. See Chapel Deeds 

Deed of Declaration, the, 1-9— Mr, 
Madocks's opinion concerningthe, 1,2 — 
recites that divers chapels, &c. had been 
conveyed to Trustees, 1-3— explains the 
■words "Yearly Conference," 3 — speci- 
fies who are to compose the Conference, 
4 — fixes the time and place of the meet- 
ings of Conference, 4, 5— declares the 
act of the majority to be binding, 5 — 
provides that all vacancies in the Con- 
ference be first filled up, 5— declares 
forty members a quorum, except in the 
case mentioned, 5 — fixes the duration of 
the Conference, 5— provides for the elec- 
tion of a President and Secretary, 5, 6 
— defines the power of the President, 
5— proviso of the, respecting members 
absenting themselves from Conference 
without leave, G — empowers the Con- 
ference to expel and admit members, 
&c. , 6 — fixes the period of a Preacher's 
probation, 6 — directs what persons the 
Conference may appoint to the chapels, 
and for what time to the same place, 
6. 7— gives the Conference power to 
hold its yearly sittings at any place, 7 
— makes provision respecting the 
chapels and Conference in Ireland, 7 
— requires resolutions, &c. to be en- 
tered iu the Conference journals, and 
signed by the President and Secre- 
tary, 7, S— provision of the, in case 
of the extinction of the Conference, 
and the consequent appropriation of 
the chapeis, &c, 8 

Deed, Model. See Chapel Deed, 
Model 

Delegates not to be admitted into the 
Conference or District Meetings, 47-48 

Depository for important documents 
established, 235 

Discipline, concerning, 95-96, 98. 
142, 144-145— of the Societies, 160-166 

Discussion and Agitation forbidden, 
144 145 

District Committees, have no power 
to suspend a Preacher -without a pro- 
per trial, 143 — not to interfere with the 
Stationing Committee, 63 

District Meetings, the formation of, 
67— rules concerning the management 
of, 67— how to be rendered more effec- 
tive, 6S — a book to be kept for record- 
ing the transactions of, 6i) — annual set- 
tlement of the accounts of, 86— autho- 
rity of, to alter and divide Circuits, 95 
— to decide that the rates for which 
seats are let are fair and equitable, be- 
fore they recommend a chapel to the 
Chapel Fund, 81, 199 — to examine and 
approve of all claims on the Chapel 
Fund, 196-197, 201— to use the utmost 
caution in sanctioning applications for 
relief, from chapels where other trusts 
in the Circuit are free from debt, 204— to 



sanction all applications to the Chapel- 
Building Committee, 243-244 — to be 
first applied to, for organs in chapels, 
182 — Circuit schedules to be produced 
at, 85 — Circuit Stewards to be present 
at, 167— order in which to discharge 
the deficiencies of Circuits at, 187, 189 
— duties of, respecting the Contingent 
Fund, 1S7-188, 191 192— to determine 
Preachers' children's allowances ac- 
cording to the number of members, 
214 — proceedings of, respecting the 
Children's Fund, to be annually re- 
ported to Conference, 216— extraetfrom 
the Minutes of 1S20 to be annually read 
at, 85— to fix upon the Preachers who 
shall attend the Conference, 70, 72-73 

District Meetings, Chairmen of, 67-87 
— how to exercise the office of, 67— to 
examineannually the Itinerant Preach- 
ers, in reference to character, doctrine, 
ability,and observance of Methodist dis- 
cipline, 71; Preachers proposed to tra- 
vel, respecting their health, piety, cha- 
racters, abilities, belief of doctrines, 
attachment to discipline, &c, 70 ; and 
as to their belief of the Eternal Sonship 
of Christ, 86; Preachers on trial, respect- 
ing their course of Theological reading, 
71 ; Preachers proposed for admission 
into full Connexion, respecting their 
acquaintance with Mr. Wesley's works, 
Sermons, and Notes, in addition to the 
other examinations, 71, 72; all claims 
on the Contingent Fund for house- rent, 
&c, 72— to inquire into the execution 
of Methodist discipline, by the Super- 
intendents, 70, 84 ; what employment 
there is for Preachers in their respec- 
tive Districts, 71; who are willing to 
go on foreign missions, 72 ; respecting 
subscriptions, &c, for the Chapel Fund 
in each Circuit, 84, 202 ; concerning the 
conduct of the brethren, respecting the 
quarterly fasts, 1 02 ; whether distressed 
chapels are occupied as Sunday schools, 
84, 107, 202, 203 ; what chapels have 
been erected in their respective Dis- 
tricts, and whether the stipulated con- 
ditions have been complied with, 203; 
if any Preacher have married during the 
year, whether he has •' married in the 
Lord," and if not, to report him to the 
Conference, 69 — duties of, respecting 
payments from the Contingent Fund, 
191 — to see the rules of the Auxiliary 
Fund carried into effect, 71, 84-85, 230; 
also the regulations respecting the Chil- 
dren's Fund, 81-82, 220— to ascertain 
the probable number of Preachers' 
children to be provided for by each 
District, and the probable proportions, 
216, 220 — to divide Preachers' chil- 
dren's allowances among the Circuits, 
79 — to report annually the names and 
ages of all the children in their Dis- 
tricts, 220 — to apportion the money al- 



312 



INDEX. 



lowed by Conference to their Districts, 
79 — directions to, concerning the School 
Fund, 84, 211, 212 — to enforce the 
rules which regulate the attendance of 
Preachers at the Conference, 72 — to 
read annually, at the District Meeting, 
the " twelve rules of a helper," &c, 
86, 104; the rules in the Minutes of 1809 
respecting the attendance of Preachers 
at Conference, 72— to be fined for not 
paying in Preachers' subscriptions sent 
by them to Conference, 100-101 — au- 
thority of, to summon three of the near- 
est Superintendents to assist at any 
Special District Meeting, 68 ; to call a 
District Meeting on a proper applica- 
tion being made to them, 67 — to send 
to an accused Preacher, in writing, the 
charge or charges, with the name or 
names of his accuser or accusers, before 
he calls a District Committee, 67 — to 
be chosen by ballot, 67--if guilty of any 
crime or misdemeanor, may be tried 
and suspended, 67 

District Meetings, Financial, ap- 
pointment and constitution of, 73, 169 
— duties of. 189 190 — to determine the 
amount of Preachers' children's allow- 
ances chargeable on the several Cir- 
cuits, 216, 217, 21S— not to vote any 
money from the Contingent Fund to 
any Circuit, unless it provides its full 
quota of children's allowances, 82,219 
appointment and duty of the Secre- 
taries of, 87— when to meet, 99 

District Meetings, Foreign, Chair- 
men of, to be annually appointed by 
the English Conference, 128, —to read 
over annually the printed instructions 
to Missionaries, and report to the 
London Committee 120 

District Meetings, Representatives of, 
directions to, 56, 80— to give their bre- 
thren early information of their ap- 
pointments, 6S 

District Meetings, West India, the 
establishment of, 128— Chairmen of 
the, to be annually appointed by the 
Conference, 128— Secretary of the, to 
be chosen by ballot, 128 — a book to be 
provided for the, 129 — financial ac- 
counts of the, to be kept, 129 — faithful 
accounts of the, duly signed, to be 
sent to the London Committee, 129 — 
to be subject to the Missionary Com- 
mittee at home, 129— to furnish an- 
nually various particulars for the in 
formation of the Committee at home, 
129 — General, a, proposed, 130; em- 
powered to censure or suspend preach- 
ers, and form a plan of stations for the 
approbation of the British Confer- 
ence, 130 

Doctrines, an epitome of the prin- 
cipal, of the Wesleyan-Methodist Con- 
nexion, 261-272 — how to preserve 
them pure, 50, 93 



Dram-drinking, how to remedy, 21, 
157, 164 

Dress, gay or expensive, forbidden, 
20, 8S, 158, 164 

Editor, rules concerning the, 235 — 
to see that the standard works of the 
Book-Room are correctly printed, 235 
— required to make the Magazine in- 
structive and interesting, 235 — to be 
Curator ofthe Wesleyan-Methodist De- 
pository for important documents, 235 
— to be appointed annually, 235— office 
of the, restricted to six years, 235 — 
may be re-appointed for six addi- 
tional years, 236 — concerning the sa- 
lary of the, 237 

Edwards, Mr., extract from the 
pamphlet of, on religious affections, to 
be circulated, S9, 1/S 

Emory, Ren. John, introduced to the 
Conference, 54 

Family Worship to be attended to, 
9G, 103, 183 

Families, catechetical instruction in, 
recommended, 182-183 

Fasting, how to practise without in- 
jury to health, 28 

Fast-Days, Quarterly, appointed, 16G 
— to be regularly observed, 75-76, 79-80, 
102— public Prayer Meetings tube held 
at, in all the chapels, 80, 102 

Fellowship- Meetings not to be per- 
mitted, 92 

Field Preaching not unlawful, 14 — 
used too sparingly, 14 

Funds, the, 184-23f> 

Fund, Auxiliary, origin of the, 222, 
226 — monies of the, how to be appro- 
priated, 229— cases of claimants on 
the, to be entered fully on the District 
Minutes, 98, 229— District Minutes 
respecting claimants on the, to be sent 
to the Treasurer, 85, 23o— claimants 
on the, right of appeal of, to the So- 
ciety, 226— allowance from the, to be 
made to the children of deceased 
Preachers, 229 ; to the School Fund 
lor the education of sons of deceased 
and Supernumerary Preachers, 230 ; 
for afflicted Preachers in Circuits, to 
be sanctioned by the Quarterly and 
District Meetings, 228— Committee of 
Eleven to be formed for the, 226; to 
examineall the circumstances of claim- 
ants on the, and to determine all claims, 
226.229, 230; decision of the, if con- 
firmed by Conference, to be final, 228 — 
list of subscribers to, to be brought an- 
nually to Conference, 9S— accounts of 
the, to be published annually, 228 ; to 
be sent to every subscriber of 10*. and 
upwards, 228 — subscriptions for the. 
when to be solicited, 109 

Fund, Chapel, the, 194-205— origin 
of the, 194 — means of further aug- 



INDEX. 



313 



meriting the, recommended, 194-195 — 
limitation of tie application of the, to 
the relief ol embarrassed chapels, 200 
— Trustees requested to subscribe to 
the, 195, 197; to make subscriptions for 
the, L4, 197, 198; requesting relief from 
the, to state how much they contribute 
to it, in aid of their Trust income, 197 
— surplus of the, above 4,000/., to be 
employed in grants for aiding the 
building of neiv chapels, 200 — all 
claims on the, to be examined and ap- 
proved by District Meetings, 197— small 
claimants on the, to be carefully ex- 
amined, 82 -mode of ascertaining the 
state of chapels claiming relief from the, 
197-198— annual collection for the, to 
be made in all the chapels, 200 -time of 
making subscriptions and collections 
for the, 109, 194-195, 197 — all monies 
for the, to be remitted to the Treasurer, 
104, 109— directions for making remit- 
tances for the, 200 — subscriptions, &c, 
for the, to be reported at District Meet- 
ings, 82,201 — Treasurer of the, incase 
of grants, to see that securities to the 
full amount be destroyed and copies 
taken, 201; duties of the, 199, 200 — a 
Lay Local Treasurer for the, to be ap- 
pointed, 203 — Report of the, to be pub- 
lished, 196 

Fund, Children's, the, 214-221- dis- 
tinct from the Contingent Fund, 214 — 
not to be prejudiced by payments out of 
the Contingent Fund, 193 — sums to be 
claimed from the, for the School Fund, 
211 — District Treasurers for the, to be 
appointed, 215 ; directions to, 216, 220- 
221— Committee for the, to be appoint- 
ed, 216; composition of the, 216; di- 
rections to the, 216,218; to station the 
children on tb<-> ktsfrom year to 

year, 217— letters concerning Ue, io be 
post-paid, 221 

Fund, Contingent, the, 184-193— ori- 
gin of the, 184 — expenditure of the, to 
he proportioned to its income, 186, 1S8, 
1S9— reserve of the, for extraordinaries, 
1S7 — grants from the, dependent upon 
the amount of the Yearly Collection, 
188 -payments out of the, not to pre- 
judice "the Children's Fund, 193 — 
allowances from the, for Preachers' 
servants, 185; for ordinary deficiencies, 
to he paid by instalments, 80, 191 — 
claims on the, for travelling expenses, 
to pass through the Quarterly Meetings, 
93, 185 — funeral expenses of Preachers 
to he chargeable on the, 230 - in what 
cases liable for ordinary deficiencies of 
Circuits, 185— order of paying the de- 
ficiencies of Circuits chargeable upon 
the, 187 — charges for house-rent upon 
the, 186 — instalments of the, how and 
when to be paid, 191— duties of Con- 
ference respecting the, 192; of District 
Meetings respecting the, 187— collec- 



tions for the, when to he made, 109 — 
Committee of the, composition of the, 
195 ; duties of the, 186, 187, 188, IS9 — 
Treasurer of the, duties of the, 188, 
191, 193 
Fund, General, how to raise a, 41 
Fund Mission, money for the, how 
to he remitted. 109, 112, 132, 133 ; not 
to be withdrawn from the Bank, with- 
out the consent of both Treasurers, 131 
— collections for the, time of making, 
109 ; no part of, to be applied to the 
payment of rents of Mission preach- 
ing-houses, or debts on Mission cha- 
pels, 130 — Treasurers of the, to be an- 
nually chosen, 114, 131— liable to the 
School Fund, for the education of Mis- 
sionaries' sons, 210 — Committee of the, 
to make all prudent retrenchments, 
130 — accounts of the, to be closed in 
December, 133 

Fund, Preachers', rules and regula- 
tions of the, 222-227— to be exclusively 
applied as the rules direct, 222 — 
Preachers' subscriptions to the, to be 
distributed among supernumerary and, 
superannuated Preachers and widows, 
222 — people's subscriptions to the, to 
form a Fund of Mercy or Auxiliary 
Fund, 222, 226 — on what conditions 
Preachers may become members of the, 
223 — terms of subscription to the, 223 
— annuities from the, on what condi- 
tions granted, 224, 225-227 ; when to 
be paid, 224 — every annuitant of the, 
to continue to subscribe to the, 225 — 
income and expenditure of the, how to 
be regulated, 225-226 — members of 
the, when to be fined, 226 ; to have 
access to its books, 227; concerning 
the exclusion or retirement of, from the, 
225 — disputes relating to the business 
of the, how to be settled, 227 — Trea- 
surer and Stewards of the, appointment 
of, 225 ; directions to the, 225 — ac- 
counts ot the, to be read at the annual 
meeting, 227 — under what circum- 
stances to be dissolved, 226 

Fund, School, the, 206-213— allow- 
ances from the, in advance, 100 — sums 
to be claimed by the, from the Chil- 
dren's Fund, 211 — claims on the, for 
boys removed from the schools, on ac- 
count of sickness, to be settled by the 
Local Committee, 212 — children of Su- 
pernumeraries to have no claim on the, 
212 — every Preacher required to sub- 
scribe to the, 211— private subscriptions 
and public collections for the, when to 
be made, 9S, 107,109, 207, 208,211 ;to 
be inquired into at the District Meet- 
ing, 8-i — interchange of Preachers re- 
commended at collections for the, 105, 
210 — monies raised for the, to be punc- 
tually sent to the Treasurers, 100, 107, 
208— fractional sums for the, to be re- 
served till Conference, 203— General 



314 



INDEX. 



Treasurers of the, alone to make pay- 
ments, 200 ; to urge Circuits which 
have applied for additional Preachers, 
to augment the School Fund, 211 ; 
when to close their accounts, 211 ; di- 
rections to the, 212— names of sub- 
scribers to the, to be published, 207 — 
annual report of the, to be published, 
207 

Funeral Sermons not to be preached 
without the consent of the Superin- 
tendent, 161 — to be preached only for 
those who "die happy in the Lord," 
1G1 — none to be preached for hire, 161, 
— caveat against panegyrics in, 161 

General Fund, how to raise a, 41 
General Redemption, doctrine of, 262 

Helpers, in what view to be con- 
sidered, 22— office ;md rules of a, 22— 
whether allowed to follow trades, 25— 
how to be watched over, 33— how to 
promote a closer union with each 
other, 35— method of receiving new, 
35— not to encourage 'any person who 
opposes theSuperintendent, 50 

Home Missions, judgment of Con- 
ference concerning the, 52 — the term 
of, and Home Missionaries to be dis- 
used, 52 — stations called, to be formed 
into, or added to, Circuits, 52 

Home Missionaries the, assimulated 
to regular Preachers, 52 — expenses of, 
to be paid out of the Yearly Collec- 
tion, 52 

Hymn Books, none but those printed 
at the Book-room to be used in the 
chapels, 179 — Supplement to the, to be 
used in all chapels, 182 

Hymns, Sacramental, use of the, 
recommended, 106, 1S2 

Institution, Theological, establish- 
ment of the, 57 — Preachers on the 
List of Reserve eligible for the, 57 — 
how long students are to remain in 
the, 57— candidates for the, to be ex- 
amined by a Committee, 5S; maybe 
declared unfit for the ministry by the 
committee, 53 -plan of tuition in the, 
58 — concerning non resident students 
of the, 59 — number of students in the, 
provision respecting, 59 — officers of the, 
concerningthe appointments of, 61, 62 

" Instructions for Children" to be 
used in every family, 94— to be ex- 
plained and enforced, 27 

Justification by Faith, doctrine of, 
265 

Kingswood School. See Schools 

Large Minutes, the, 13-44 — to be 
construed Avithout reference to any 
subsequent Minutes of Conference, 89 



—to be signed by persons proposed to 
travel, 89 

Law-Suits, concerning the City- road 
Chapel, 49 ; the Brighouse Chapel, 49— 
directions respecting, 49 50 

Leaders to see each person in their 
classes, once in every week, 76, 157 — 
to inquire how their members' souls 
prosper, 15 — to exhort every person to 
put away Sabbath-breaking, dram- 
drinking, evil-speaking, &c, 21 — to 
advise, reprove, comfort, or exhort 
their members, as occasion may re- 
quire, 157— how to he made more use- 
ful, 14-15, 96 — to collect weekly what 
their members are disposed to give, 
108, 157 — to meet the Preachers and 
Stewards once a week, 96, 157 — to 
inform the Preacher of any sick or 
disorderly members, 157— to pay their 
class-money weekly to the Stewards, 
108, 157— to show their account of 
what each person has contributed, 
108, 157— to be consulted in the ap- 
pointment or removal of each other, 
144 — frequently to meet each other's 
classes, 15— to be appointed and re 
moved by the Leaders' Meeting, 147, 
150, 167— majority of, to consent to the 
administration of Baptism and the 
Lord's Supper, 162, 163— majority of 
the, and Stewards, power of, to.summon 
the Committee formed according to 
the Plan of Pacification, 142— mem- 
bers of the'Committee formed accord- 
ing to the Plan of Pacification, 142 

Leaders' Meetings, — See Meetings, 
Leaders 

Leeds, the dissensions at, resolutions 
concerning, 151-155 

Letters, on public business, to be 
post-paid (a standing order), 46 — 
printed, to be post paid, 144— non- 
official, forbidden, 145 

List of Reserve, how to be formed, 
95— to be left with the President, 45 

Liturgy, use of the, recommended, 
1G2, 181 — Wesley's Abridgment of 
the, ordered to be printed, 182 

Lord's-day to be religiously kept, 77, 
88, 104, 105— observance of the, how- 
to be further enforced, 91 — making or 
attending wakes or feasts on the, 
forbidden, 164— teaching writing on 
the, to be discountenanced, 105, 247 

Lord's Supper to be administered 
on Sunday evenings only, 163 ; and as 
in the Church, 163, 181— may be ad- 
ministered in church hours, 163 — not 
to be administered on days when ad- 
ministered in the parish church, 163 
—when to be administered in private 
houses, 163— communicants at. the, to 
show their tickets, 84, 106— only pro- 
per persons to be admitted to the, 91, 
1 63— not to be made a cause of schism , 
144— abstinence from controversy on 



INDEX. 



315 



the, enjoined, 144— directions concern- 
ing the administration of the, 48, 88, 
92, 141, 142, 144, 1G2-164, 179 

Lovef easts appointed by Superin- 
tendents alone, 161 — not to be held 
without the Superintendent's appro- 
bation, 180 — rules of admission to, 94, 
161— how long to last, 31 

Loyalty enjoined, 123, 166 

Marriage with unbelievers, how to 
prevent the fatal effects of, 21, 165 — 
in what cases a woman may contract 
without her parents' consent, 21, 165 

Means of grace, Instituted, not to be 
neglected through zeal for local cha- 
rities, 78 

Meetings, Camp, disapproved and 
disclaimed, 180 

Meetings, Children's, to be held 
weekly, 27, 93 

Meetings, Ciass, to be publicly re- 
commended, 74— how to be made more 
lively and profitable, 15— visitation of, 
76, 104 

Meetings, Leaders' to be held weekly 
in every Circuit town, 107; fortnight- 
ly, in the principal Societies in the 
country, 108— in what spirit to be 
conducted, 77 — on the right of, to ex- 
press their opinion to Conference, 153 
— Stewards and Leaders to be appointed 
or removed in conjunction with, 147, 
167 — veto of, upon non-official meet- 
ings, 148 ; on the admission of mem- 
bers into Society, 147, 150, 160— guilt 
of private members to be proved at, 
prior to expulsion, 147, 160— votes to 
determine whether the rules of Me- 
thodism shall be executed or not, not 
to be taken at, 93, 167 

Meetings, Non-official, forbidden, 145 

— conditions on which they may be 
held, 148 

Meetings, Quarterly, composition of, 
170— in what spirit to be conducted, 77 

— to be "consulted" in the choice 
of Circuit Stewards, 167— control over 
the division of Circuits, 146, 170; 
financial control of, 146, 149— to ap- 
prove of bills for Circuit deficiencies, 
146, 170— allowance to Circuit Preach- 
ers from Contingent Fund for affliction, 
to be proposed in, 228— claims on the 
Contingent Fund for travelling ex- 
penses, to pass the, 185 — allowance 
from, to Preachers on trial for books, 
172— veto of, upon non-official meet- 
ings, 140 — all new rules of Conference 
to be referred to, prior to execution, 
148, 149, 150— veto of, upon execu 
tion of all new rules of Conference for 
one year, 148-149, 159 — prohibited from 
discussing, by any means, any new 
rule rejected by them, 148— when to 
admit Local Preachers, 168— March, 
to approve of Preachers proposed to 



travel, 170— no letters concerning sta- 
tions, but such as come from majori- 
ties of, to be regarded by the Stationing 
Committee, 63 ; to be first read by the 
Stationing Committee, and then by 
the Conference, 64— approbation of, to 
be obtained, prior to building any new 
chapel, 243— dissolved, if any Preacher 
be " obliged " to withdraw from, 92, 171 

Meetings, Society, concerning, 161— 
to be held weekly, 22; every Lord's- 
day, 91, 98 — members to show their 
tickets at, 98, 161 — open to strangers, 
not to be held oftener than once a 
month, 91 % 

Members expected to pay one penny 
per week and one shilling per quarter, 
97, 185 — recommended to meet in 
classes nearest to their residences, 102 
— exhorted to meet in Bands, 103 — to 
attend to family worship, 103 — not to 
employ barbers on the Lord's-day, 164 — 
not to take the name of God in vain, 
157 — not to profane the Lord's-day, 157 
—not to buy or sell spirituous liquors, 
157 ; nor drink them except in extreme 
cases, 157 — not to quarrel or brawl, 157 
— not to return evil for evil, 158 — not 
to chaffer, 158— not to buy or sell un- 
customed goods, 158 — not to take un- 
lawful interest, 15S— not to put on gold 
or costly apparel, 15S— not to borrow 
without a probability of paying, 158 — 
to avoid going to law with a brother, 
157-158 ; unprofitable and uncharitable 
conversation, 158 ; softness or needless 
indulgence, 158; laying up treasure 
on earth, 158; taking such diversions 
as cannot be used in the name of the 
Lord, 110, 158; singing those songs, or 
reading those books, "that do not tend 
to the knowledge or love of God,"n0- 
158 — to do good to the bodies and souls 
of all men, 158; especially to them of 
the household of faith, 158 — to be di- 
ligent and frugal, 158— to attend all 
the ordinances of God, 158; the Lord's 
Table, 77 ; at least once a month, 92 — 
forbidden to make or attend wakes or 
feasts on the Lord's-day, 184— concern- 
ing exclusion of, from the societies, 160 
— liable to expulsion for Sabbath-break- 
ing, 157, 164; for gay or expensive dress, 
158, 164; for immorality, 147, 160; for 
dealing in accommodation bills, 21, 101, 
165, 166 ; for contracting imprudent 
debts, 1C4; for breach of rule, 160; 
for employing dancing-masters, 164 ; 
for applying for licenses to preach, 
169; for evil-speaking, 164"; for 
smuggling, 21, 158, 164, for marrying 
with unbelievers, 165— liable to sus- 
pension for lending their Society 
tickets, 94, 161 ; for trading beyond 
their capital, 166 — guilt of, to be 
proved at a Leaders' Meeting, prior to 
expulsion, 147 — concerning the clan- 



316 



INDEX. 



destine expulsion of, 150 — appoint- 
ment to office of, 150— method to en- 
sure an accurate return of, 87, 111 — 
certificates to be given to, on removal, 
3J, 95, ICO— deaths of, directions con- 
cerning- the registration of the, 90 

Members, Band, not to drink drams, 
20, 175— not to chaffer, 175— not to 
pawn, 175— not to backbite, 175— not 
towearnaedless ornaments, 175— notto 
use snuff" or tobacco, 2«', 1 7c 
alms, 175 — to reprove sin — 1 
at Church and Lord's table once a 
week, 175 — to fast every Friday, 175 

Members, Bankrupt, accounts of, to 
be examined, 21, 101— when able, to 
pav their former debts, 166 — fraudu- 
lent, to be expelled, 21,10!, 165, 166 

Members, Official, rules concernin 



of their success, 126— not to "follow 
trade," 127 — entitled to all the privi- 
leges of the Travelling Preachers in 
Europe, 128 — to pay 41. 4s. per an- 
num to the School Fvwt, for each of 
their boys at the schools, 210; double 
the amount of Preachers at home for 
admission and annual subscription to 
the Preachers' Fund, 128 — List of 
Reserve of, when exhausted, what to 
o give ! be done, 1)5 
to be Missionaries, the printed instructions 
to, 121 127 — signed by the Secretaries 
to be given to every Missionary, 120 — 
to be considered as standing rules of 
their conduct, 120— to be read over, 
annually, at every District Meeting, 
120 — recommend due attention to per- 
sonal piety, 121— urge the u?e of every 



167-172 — doctrinal tests of, 93 — judges j means of mental improvement, 121 — 

of ministerial character and ability, exhort to unity of affection and unity 

144, 145, 150 j of action, 122— require them to act iii 

Members, Rich, to be avoided, 241 j all things consistently with their cha- 

Memorials to Conference, on, 62, 153 , racters as Wesleyan-Methodist Preach- 



Men and women recommended to 
sit apart, 89 

Methodism, the rise of, 13 — laws and 
usages of, on certain novel interpreta- 
tions of the, 155 

Methodists, throughout the world, 
one body, 54 — do not exist for the pur- 
poses of party, 75 — whether they are 
Dissenters, 32 — whether they should 
separate from the Church, 33 — reasons 
why they should not separate from the 
Church, 33 

Minutes of Conference, provision for 
the accuracy of the, 185 — appendix to 
the, only to include total amounts of 
public collections, and private sub- 
scriptions for the School Fund, 207 



ers, 122— recommend them to avoid all 
appearance of controversy, 122 — re- 
quire a conscientious regard to disci- 
pline, 122 — interdict the meddling with 
political parties or secular disputes, 122 
— recommend good behaviour towards 
Governors, and to seek the protection 
of local Governments, 123 — give mis- 
cellaneous directions to those appoint- 
ed to the West India colonies, 123-126 

Missionaries, West India, not to 
apply any monies to pay extraordinary 
deficiencies without the consent of the 
Committee, 132 

Missionary Candidates, list of, to be 
annually laid before Conference, 115 — 
questions additional to, or explanatory- 



accounts of the Auxiliary Fund not to of, those usually put to, 117-120 — if 

be published in the, 228 1 approved, to be entered on the list of 

Missionaries, how to be examined received Missionaries, 115 — who have 



and selected, 114-115— plan for stati- 
oning the, to be drawn up by the Se- 
cretaries and submitted to the General 
Committee, 116 — accused of miscon- 
duct, how to be tried, 116; may be 
recalled by the Conference or General 
Committee in London, 116 — failure of 
the health of, regulations concerning 
the, 118—on what conditions th c y may 
be permitted to return home to marry, 
118-119 — regulations respecting the 
marriage of, before the termination 
of their probation, 133 — to draw bills 
only on the General Treasurers, 133 — 
under what restrictions they may draw 
bills, 131, 133 — disavowal of the reso- 
lutions published by the, in Jamaica, 
134-135 — not to return home without 
leave, 136 — regulations respecting the 
appointment, stay, and return of, 136- 
139 — to keep a journal, and to send 
home copious extracts, 126— cautioned 
against writing exaggerated accounts 



matrimonial engagements unfulfilled, 
not to be sent out, 119— intending to 
go out married, to give testimonials as 
to the suitableness of the persons they 
intend to marry, 119 — proposed as 
single men, to go out as such, 119 — 
single, not to contract marriage -with- 
out consulting their brethren, 119 

Missionary Deputations, the plan of, 
to be again tried, 135 — various regula- 
tions concerning, 135-136 

Missionary Society, 112-139— plan of 
the, 112 — who are members of the, 
112, 113 — members of the, urged to 
private intercession on behalf of it, 
117 — all persons who collect Is. and 
upwards per week for the, entitled to 
the Annual Report and Missionary 
Notices, 113— public meeting of the, 
when and whereto beheld, 113 — Gene- 
ral Secretaries of the, to be Methodist 
ministers, and to be ivholly employed 
in the service of the institution, 114, 



INDEX. 



317 



134 ; rule respecting the continuance in 
office of the,~134 — General Committee 
of the, how constituted, 114; powers of, 
andof whom composed,113; empowered 
to modify the standing rules, 120 ; to 
hold a special meeting annually at the 
place where the Conference is to as- 
semble, 11C ; may suspend the appoint- 
ment of a Preacher, on the List of 
Reserve, proposed for a foreign station, 
until Conference, 115 

Missionary Societies, Branch, Secre- 
taries of, to forward annually a list of 
subscribers to the Secretary of the Aux- 
iliary Society of their District, 113 

Missionary Societies for Circuits, 
how to be designated, 112 

Missionary Societies for Districts, 
recommended to be formed, 132 — how 
to be designated, 112— Secretaries of, 
to forward annually to the General 
Secretaries a list of all subscribers in 
their Circuits, 113 

Missionary Prayer-Meetings recom- 
mended to be held monthly, 117, 131 

Missions, general rules concerning 
the, 128, 139— noperson to be employed 
on the, who is not suitable for the re- 
gular Circuits, 129 — all the, to be placed 
on the same plan, as to government 
and support, 130— to be subject to the 
general directions of the Conference, 
130— spiritual concerns of the, to be 
under the exclusive superintendence 
of the Conference, 131 — general report 
of the, to be prepared and published 
annually, 131 

Missions, Irish, Agent of the, to re- 
side in Ireland, 134 

Missions, West India, no Preachers 
employed on the, to marry slave- 
holders, 129 — Preachers employed on 
the, connected by marriage or other- 
wise, with proprietors of slaves, to 
take immediate steps for their eman- 
cipation, 130 — general Superintendent 
for the, to be appointed, 130 ; to be 
changed every two or three years, 130 

Missions, West India District Meet- 
ings. See District Meetings West 
India. 

Model Deed. See Chapel Deed, Model 

Music, Wesley's Thoughts on, to be 
distributed, 181 

Music and Musical Festivals, on, 179 

Ordinations, rules concerning, 47 
Organs, application for, to be first 
made at District Meetings, 182— to be 
proposed in Conference, 177 — not to be 
erected without the special consent of 
Conference, 182 — right of Leaders' 
Meetings to memorialise Conference 
concerning, 153— Conference Commit- 
tee on, 182 — to be subservient to con- 
gregational singing, 180— no volunta- 
ries to be played on during servi' e, 180 



Original Sin, doctrine of> 261 

Pacification, Plan of, 141-145 — ori- 
gin of the, 140 — and Regulations made 
at Leeds, the only basis of fellowship, 
and only ground of communion, 155 — 
as part of the General Minutes, to be 
construed with reference to any other 
Minutes of Conference, 89 — standing 
rules of the Connexion, 181 — refused 
by the Irish Conference, 141 

Pastoral Address. See Address, Pas- 
toral 

Pastoral Duties, 56, 76, 102 

People, the, 140-183 — why those 
under the Preachers' care are not bet- 
ter, 26 — in what particular method to 
be instructed, 27 — subscriptions of the, 
to the Preachers' Fund, how to be ap- 
plied, 222 

Perseverance of the Saints, doctrine 
of the, 270 

Prayer, sitting during public, con- 
demned, 180 

Prayer- Meetings to he encouraged, 
/4, — order to be preserved in, 177- 
178 — establishment of, in private 
houses, recommended, 103 — Monthly- 
Missionary, recommended, 117, 131 

Prayer-Meetings, Public, to be held in 
all the chapels at the Quarterly Fasts, 
102, 80 

Preachers, The Hundred, the only 
legal Conference, 143 — solemn recog- 
nition by the, of the Rules collected in 
1797, 148— to be sent, especially where 
God pours out his spirit 14— appoint- 
ment of the, to remain solely with the 
Conference, 142— stationing the, howto 
expedite, 63— re-sta.tioning the, in the 
same Circuit, 61— triennial stations of 
the, 65 — removals of the, to be as short 
as possible, 64 — not to be petitioned 
for, till the March Quarterly Meeting, 
171-172— how to prevent the unneces- 
sary increase of, 61 — a reserve of, to be 
kept at Kingswood School, 14 — reasons 
why the, contract nervous disorders, 
25 — in what manner to employ their 
time, 25 — why not more knowing and 
more holy, 26-27 — urged to renewed 
diligence and punctuality, 83, 106 — re- 
solve to preach a free, present, and full 
salvation, 103 ; to be more attentive to 
personal religion and ministerial duty, 
73, 102 — not to engage in secular con- 
cerns, 50 — not to touch snuff or drams, 
20 — to dissuade the people from the 
use of snuff and drams, 20 — ad- 
vised to preach out of doors, 14, 74 j 
in private houses, and especially in 
cottages, 103 ; against unequal mar- 
riages, 21; against Sabbath- breaking, 
dram-drinking,&c, 21 ; on education, 
27; on the advantage of Christian 
communion 74— to be diligent in pas- 
toral visits, 76, 102 — to establish 



318 



INDEX. 



prayer-meetings in private houses, 103 
— to try to open new places in every 
Circuit, 74— toattempt the formation of 
new classes in suitable neighbourhoods, 
74— to converse with those who are un- 
der serious concern, 104— to instruct 
the people from house to house, 16— fre- 
quently to address the young Members 
of Society, 110— to meet the Societies 
every Lord's-day, 22, 75, 98; the Bands 
weekly,22— to read the Pastoral Address 
to all the Societies, 104; the Sermon on 
Evil speaking, 2 1— to see that Members 
show their tickets at Love-feasts, So- 
ciety-meetings, and at the Sacrament, 
98 — when to give tickets to new Mem 
bers, 20, 7 60— notes of admission, 20, 
1 60— to give the rules to new Members, 
20, 160— to enfoice the observance of 
the Sabbath, 104-105; family religion' 
in Leaders' and Society Meetings, and 
at Quarterly Visitation of Classes, 96, ' 
1S3, — exempt from the payment of] 
Sunday tolls, 4S — weekly meetings of, 
51, — of different Circuits in the same j 
town, advised to meet regularly, 110— | 
to subscribe to the School Fund, 106, 
211 — to make private applications to j 
liberal friends on behalf of the Schools, 
208 — interchange of. for School collec- 
tions, recommended, 105, 210 — to pay 
the postage of letters to the Govern- 
ors, or to their sons, at either of the 
Schools, 207; their sons' travelling ex- 
penses to the Schools, 208 — on publish- 
ing a work, required to send a copy of 
it to each of the School libraries," 208 
— to request Trustees to accompany 
them in soliciting subscriptions for the 
Chapel Fund, 104, 201— to compare 
Chanel schedules with Trustee books, 
105— not to visit their friends or rela- \ 
tions between Midsummer and Mi- j 
chaelmas, 47— to be members of Sun- j 
day-school Committees, 94, 246, 251— j 
to vote at the annual Sunday-school 
meetings, 252 — to form associations for \ 
the distribution of Religious Tracts. I 
103 — to recommend payment on deli j 
very for Magazines and other books, j 
102, 239— to revive the use of the Sa- i 
cramental Hymns, 106, 182 — to ex- ! 
amine hymns selected for occasional | 
sermons, 181— to prefer the authorised 
to M?i-authorised hymns, 181 — not to 
publish or sell in the Chapels any 
books but those which are sold at the 
Book- Room, 238 — concerning the pri- 
vileges of the, from the Book-Room, 
239 — to have a copy of the Annual 
Minutes, gratis, 239 — to be allowed a 
commission on all books which they 
sell, and a discount upon books which 
they purchase for their own use, 239 — 
recommended to purchase Benson's 
{Commentary, 72, 99 ; to have it at 
half the selling price, 72, 99; his Com- 



mentary on the New Testament at 4s. 
per part, 99 — accusations against, how 
to be brought, 51, 67 — accused of im- 
morality, how to be tried, 67-6S — pecu- 
liar Court for the trial of, 142— refusing 
to be tried when duly summoned, to be 
suspended. 143 — sine qua non of the 
suspension of, 143— suspended or ex- 
pelled, not to be Local Preachers with- 
out leave of Conference, ]6S — excluded 
for immorality, not to he Local Preach- 
ers, Class Leaders, or even private 
Members, without the consent of Con- 
ference, 99— expelled or retiring, not to 
receive any benefit from the Preachers' 
Fund, 225 — improper, how to prevent 
their getting into the Connexion, 89 — 
attendance of, at the Conference, 69 — 
70, 72-73 ; expenses of, how to be de- 
frayed, 70 — not to retain any part of 
the July Collection, to pay their own 
deficiencies, 101, 190 — not to occupy 
any Chapel, until properly settled, 94, 
241 — marriage of, judgment of the 
Conference concerning the, 51. 82, 105, 
during the year, to be inquired into by 
District Meetings, 69, S3 — only, to ad- 
minister the Sacraments, 70, 96, 163 — 
may refuse to administer the Lord's 
Supper, 163 — bills, to be audited by 
the Quarterly Meetings, 146 — agree- 
ment of, to convey 6000/. of Book- 
Room property to the Preachers' fund, 
223— subscriptions of, to the Preach- 
ers' Fund, how to be applied, 222 — on 
what conditions may become members 
of the Annuitant Society, 223; and 
receive annuities from the Preachers' 
Fund, 22-1 — allowance to, for afflic- 
tions, from the Auxiliary Fund, how 
to be granted, 228, 229 ;" for the serv- 
ants of, 185 — how to promote a closer 
union of the, with each other, 50, 51, 
122— salaries of, not to be augmented 
until approved of by a majority of the 
District Meetings throughout the king- 
dom, 52 — to repress a spirit of strife 
and debate in Leaders and Quarterly 
Meetings, 77— to enforce a regular at- 
tendance on the Lord's Supper, 77 — 
to examine into the characters and 
qualifications of persons proposed as 
Leaner?, 76 — on receiving new Lead- 
ers into the Leaders' Meetings to state 
and enforce the duties of the office, 
76 

Preachers' Children, allotment of, to 
each District, to be determined by the 
number of members, 214 ; to each Cir- 
cuit, to be determined by Financial Dis- 
trict Meetings, 216, 217, 218— probable 
number of, to be provided for in each 
District, to be ascertained, 216,220 — 
fractional numbers of, regulations with 
respect to, 2 1 8 — provi sion for those born 
within the year, 2 19, 221— born after the 
father becomes a Supernumerary, not 



INDEX. 



319 



to have a claim on School Fund, 212 — 
names and ages of all in each District 
to be annually reported, 220 — not at 
the schools, allowance for, to be paid 
in advance, 210— deaths of, provision 
in that case, 220, 221 — minimum of 
allowance for ; 171— quarterly allowance 
of, when to commence, 219; not to be 
paid out of the Contingent Fund, 215: 
to be paid regularly by Circuit Stew- 
ards, 215 — directions respecting allow- 
ance for, 95, 98, 209, 212. 213, 221 

Preachers', Children, Step, to have 
no claim on the public funds or Cir- 
cuits, 214 

Preachers' Daughters, allowance for, 
from the School Fund. 88, 200 

Preachers, Deceased, funeral expenses 
of. allowance for, 97, 1S4, 230— children 
of, allowance for, from the Auxiliary 
Fund, 229 ; ages of, claiming relief 
from the Auxiliary Fund to be re- 
ported to District Meetings, 2?9 — sons 
of, to be admitted into K'mgswood and 
Wooahouse Grove schools, 230 

Preachers, Female, not allowable, 
except in very extraordinary cases, 
178— wlioily interdicted by the Irish 
Conference, 17S 

Preachers' Houses not to be crowded 
by the people, 40 — to be provided with 
book.s, 89— allowance for furniture of, 
97, 184 

Preachers, Itinerant, offering them- 
selves for foreign service, to be exa- 
mined by a special committee, Ik" — 
not to be sent on any foreign mission 
unless approved by the Conference, 
130 — period of their stay abroad to be 
matter of negotiation with the Missi- 
onary Committee, 119, 132 

Preachers, Junior, to make a declara- 
tion of their faith concerning the lead- 
ing doctrines. 50 — plan for meeting the 
claims of, on their marriage, (!G 

Preachers, Local, 16S170 — to meet 
in class, 168 — not to be received with- 
out the approbation of the Local 
Preaches' Meeting, 147, 168— meet- 
ings, to be quarterly, 168- when to 
be admitted by Quarterly Meetings, 
168— to have Benson's Commentary at 
a discount of 25 per cent, 170 — not to 
preach in other Circuits but by the 
leave of the Superintendents, 117, 168 
— not to give up business in prospect 
of travelling, without sufficient reason, 
90 — offering themselves for a Foreign 
Mission to be proposed as soon as 
possible, 90 — not to hold Lovefeasts 
■without Superintendent's leave, 168 — 
not to avail themselves of exemptions 
under the Toleration Act, 169 — to be 
expelled for disturbing societies re- 
specting the Lord's Supper, &c, 144; 
for defending smuggling, 92 

Preachers, London, deputed to pre- 



pare and publish a system of rules for 
the Tract Committee, 258 — members 
of the Book Committee, 233— of the 
Committee for determining on the ad- 
mission of students into the Theolo- 
gical Institution, 58 

Preachers, Married, to be stationed 
in proportion to the number of Mem- 
bers in Society, 64, 171- multiplica- 
tion of, 185— minimum of allowance 
of, 1S6— called out into the work, to 
maintain their wives, 47 

Preachers, Methodist, God's design 
in raising up the, 13 

Preachers on Hie List of Reserve, 
called into Circuits during the year 
when their itinerancy begins, 51, 52 — 
not called out during the year, to be 
reported in the District Minutes, 80 — 
eligible as candidates for the Theologi- 
cal Institution, 57 

Preachers on Trial, how to be sta- 
tioned, 66— book allowance for, from 
Circuits. 10S, 172; to be laid out under 
the direction of their Superintent or 
Colleagues, 10P, 172— required to de- 
liver annually to the Chairmen of their 
Districts a list of all the books they 
have read during the year, 71 — to pro- 
cure Wesley's Works. 72, 99, 239 — may 
administer private baptism in emer- 
gent cases, 111 — sent on Foreign Mis- 
sions, to be subject., with respect to 
marriage, to all the rules which govern 
Preachers at home, 129— desisting from 
travelling, 51 —when their probation is 
to be considered as terminated, 50 — 
proposed for admission into full con- 
nexion, to undergo a careful examina- 
tion, 71 — recommended to be admitted 
into full connexion, to attend the Con- 
ference, 80— to be admitted into full 
connexion only at the Annual Confer- 
ences, 51— purchase-money for Wesley's 
Works to be returned to, on admission 
into full connexion, 239 — when re- 
ceived into full connexion to have the 
eight volumes of Mr. Wesley's sermons 
given him as a present from the Book- 
room, 89 

Preachers proposed to travel, 170 — 
being married, to maintain their 
wives, 47 — security for the characters, 
qualifications, and orthodoxy of, S5, 
86 — to be approved by the March 
Quarterly Meeting, 89— to sign the 
General Minutes as fully approving of 
them, 89 — to have read Mr. Wesley's 
Notes and Sermons, 83, 106— may be 
received on trial, after being examined 
by three Superintendents, 91 — called 
into the Circuits during the year, -when 
their Itinerancy begins, 51, 52 

Preachers, Senior, how to be sta- 
tioned, 63 

Preachers, Single, to lodge where 
they preach in the country, 53— addi- 



320 



INDEX. 



tional, conditions of sending to any 
Circuit, 64, 1/1 — one of the, to be joint 
Treasurer of the Mission Fund, 131 

Preachers' So?is, when to be admitted 
into Kingswood and Woodhouse Grove 
schools, 207 — not to be admitted into 
the Schools unless their fathers pay 
51.5s. towardsWoodhouse Grove School, 
207— removed from one School to the 
other, to have a written character, 207 
— to have two suits of clothes &c, 
when they leave the Schools, 206 — al- 
lowance for those not at the Schools, 
171, 206 

Preachers, Superannuated, when to be 
considered such, 47, 63 — to be declared 
such by Conference, 225 — on what con- 
ditions may receive annuities from the 
Preachers' Fund, 224, 227 

Preachers, Supernumerary and Su- 
perannuated, how to be made, 47, 63 — 
wants of, how to be supplied, 222, 226, 
228— to meet in class, 168— to have a 
volume of the large collection of Mi- 
nutes presented to them, 90 

Preachers, Supernumerary, to have 
a copy of the annual Minutes, gratis, 
239 — children of, in extreme cases, 
may be assisted from the Auxiliary 
Fund, 212— not to have a claim on the 
School Fund, 212- sons of, to be ad- 
mitted into the Schools, 230. 

Preachers' Widows, on what condi 
tions they may receive an annuity from 
the Preachers' Fund, 224 

Preachers' Wives, salaries of, mini 
mum of, 171 ; how to be paid, 95, 190 ; 
to be first paid bv Quarterly Meeting, 
1/1 

Preaching, recommended out of 
doors, 14, 74; in private houses and 
cottages, 103 ; chiefly where there are 
most hearers and most fruit, — method 
of, 28, 73 — miscellaneous advices 
relative to, 28 -Christ, most practical 
way of, 29— how to try those whothink 
they are moved by the Holy Ghost to 
the office of, 35— morning, never to be 
dropped, 22 

Preaching Houses, whether safe, and 
how to make them so. 39— talking in, 
how to be cured, 39— indecency against, 
to be reproved, 39— on what condi- 
tions they may be built, 40— how to be 
built, 241 

President, the, of Conference, how 
elected, 45 — regulations concerning the 
office of, 45 — authorised to supply 
vacancies from the List of Reserve, 
45— Chairman of his District, ex officio, 
46 — power to assist at any District 
Meeting if applied to, and to visit 
Circuits, and redress grievances, 45— 
not to be sent for, unless his expenses 
are paid, 90— ex officio, a member of 
the General Tract Committee, 257— 
ex officio, a member of the Stationing 



Committee, 65 — regulations respecting 
the attendance of, in the Stationing 
Committee, 65, C8 — to appoint who 
shall preach at Conference, 46 — a ju. 
nior Preacher to be appointed to assist, 
during the year, 46— all letters to, 
on business, to be post-paid, 46— how 
his place is to be supplied if he should 
die during his Presidency, 46 

President, Ex, the, to deliver the 
charge to Preachers admitted into full 
connexion, 46 — to resume the Pre- 
sidency in case the President for the 
year should die, 46 

Psalms and Hymns, recommended 
for service on Lord's-day forenoon, 182 

Publications, anonymous, forbidden ( 
144— concerning, 237, 23S 

Pulpit, the, not to be made a vehicle 
of abuse, 144 

Quarterly Meetings. See Meetings, 
Quarterly 

Begulations made at Leeds, 148, 151 
— origin of the, 146— and Plan of Paci- 
fication, the only basis of fellowship, 
and only ground of communion, 155 — 
as part of the General Minutes, to be 
construed without reference to any 
other Minutes of Conference, 89 

Religion, Family, concerning, 15-20, 
182-183 

Religion, Personal and Family, how 
best promoted, 96 

Religion, Spiritual, measures to be 
adopted for the increase of, 73, 102 

Repentance, the doctrine of, 264 

Representatives of District Meetings. 
See District Meetings, Representatives 
of 

Revivals, cautions respecting, 178 — 
means of promoting, 55, 73, 83, 102 

Rules, New, of Conference, to be re- 
ferred to Quarterly Meetings prior to 
execution, 148-149— to be suspended 
in Circuits where objected to by Quar- 
terly Meetings, 148— rejected by Quar- 
terly Meetings, not to be made an oc- 
casion for discussion, 148 — if con- 
firmed, binding on the whole Con- 
nexion, 149 

Rules of Society, 156-159— to be ex- 
plained and enforced, 27 — not to be 
amended but kept, 23, 77— all the, 
affecting the People, to be published, 
148 

Sabbath. See Lord's-day 

Sabbath-breaking, concerning, 164, 
165 — dram-drinking, evil-speaking, 
&c, how to remedy, 21, 8S. 

Sacramental Hymns, the use of the, 
recommended, 105. 

Schedules, Circuit. See Circuit Sche- 
dules. 

Schoo^Kingswood, reserve of Preach • 



INDEX. 



321 



ers to be kept at, 14— any boy at, dis- 
covering an extraordinary genius, 
under what circumstances to be al- 
lowed to continue longer in, 206 — Mr. 
"Wesley's plan of classical education to 
be adopted at, 207— how to state the 
excellency of, 40 — how to be kept 
out of debt, 41 — expense of, new build- 
ings and furniture for, to be borrowed, 
209 — additional support of, recom- 
mended, 91 — annual account of, to be 
published, 146 

Schools, Kingswood and Woodhouse 
Grove, boys not to be admitted into, 
until their fathers have paid 51. 5s. to- 
wards the purchase of Woodhouse 
Grove school, 20" — when, and by what 
rule of priority, boys are to enter the, 
20/ — how to fill up vacancies at, 207— 
travelling expenses of boys to, to be paid 
by their parents, 208 — sous of deceased 
or Supernumerary Preachers to be ad- 
mitted into the, 230 — boys removed 
from, on account of sickness, directions 
concerning, 212; from one to the 
other, to have a written character, 207 
— annual vacation of, when to com- 
mence, 208— money to be claimed for, 
from the Mission Fund, 210 — sche- 
dules of accounts of, to be filled up by 
the Superintendents, 210— auditors of 
accounts of, to be appointed, 210 — let- 
ters to, directions concerning, 207, 20S 
— annual collections for, to be made, 
98 — additional support of, to be re- 
commended, 206 — governors of, ap- 
pointments of, limited, 210; to enforce 
the usual subscriptions towards the 
purchase of Woodhouse Grove School , 
212; to settle with parents of boys 
claiming allowance on their removal, 
212 

Schools, Sunday, rules concerning, 
94 — institution of, 24,5 — denomination 
of, 251 —constitution of, 251-252— 
to be secured to the Connexion, 254- 
255 — Address of Conference to the So- 
cieties on, 245 — existing rules of Con- 
ference respecting, confirmed, 247 — 
to be closely connected with the 
church of Christ, 246, 249— strictly and 
entirely religious institutions, 249 — 
not to interfere more than necessary 
with the duties of the Sabbath, 250- 
secularity and bustle of mere school 
business to be avoided in, 251 — 
teaching writing on the Lord's-day in, 
discountenanced, 105, 165, 217, 253 — 
catechetical exercises to be used in, 
253 — children of. to attend public 
worship, 94, 246, 254 — books not to be 
admitted into the libraries of, without 
the approbation of the Committees, 253 
— books not to be sold in, on the Lord's- 
day, 254 — appointment of a Committee 
to prepare a plan for the management 
of, 247, 248— general principles and 



rules to be observed in, 249, 256— 
Committees of General Management 
for the, 251— officers of, the appoint- 
ment of, 252-253— Committees of, not to 
meet on theLord's-day, 254— Teachers' 
Meetings, directions concerning, 254 — 
Preachers to be members of Committees 
of, 94, 246,251 —the Superintendent 
Preacher to preside at the Committees 
of, 246 

Schools, Sunday, New,io be established 
in conformity with the principles and 
rules laid down by Conference in 1837, 
255-256 

Schools, Week-day, establishment of, 
recommended, 256 — to be under 
efficient spiritual control, 256 

School, Woodhouse Grove, establish- 
ment of the, 206 

Scotland, how to increase the work 
of God in, 39 

Secretary of Conference, how chosen, 
45 —ex officio member of the Tract Com- 
mittee, 257— ex officio member of the 
Stationing Committee, 65 ; regulations 
respecting the attendance of, at the, 
65-63 — all letters to, to be post paid, 46 

Sectarian Spirit, a, to be avoided, 
75 

Singing, formality in, 29 — standing 
during, enjoined, 180— after service, 
forbidden, 1 SI— directions concerning, 
177 

Smuggling, direct or indirect, forbid- 
den, 21, 92. 158, 164 

Snuff and Drams forbidden, 20 

Society, general rules of the, 156-159 
— discipline of the, 160— how to pre- 
vent improper persons insinuating 
themselves into the, 20 — to be met 
after preaching, especially in country- 
places, 91 — to be frequently met apart 
from the congregation, 83, 106 

Societies, origin of the, 156 — to be 
formed wherever there is preaching, 
13-14 — only condition of admission 
into the. 157 

Society Meetings, — see Meetings, So- 
ciety 

Sonship, the Eternal, belief of, neces- 
sary to admission into the itinerant 
ministry, 86 

Stationing C>mmittee. See Com- 
mittee Stationing, and District Meet- 
ings, Representatives of 

Stephens, Mr. J. R., case of, 302-305 

Stewards, concerning, 167-168 — to be 
annually elected, 91, 96 — period of 
the office of, 167 — to be appointed and 
removed by Leaders' Meetings, 147, 
150, 167 — to be consulted in the ap- 
pointment or removal of each other, 
144 — majority of, to consent to the ad- 
ministration of Baptism and the Lord's 
Supper, 162-163 — power of a majority 
of the, and Leaders to summon the Com 
mittee formed according to the Plan of 



322 



INDEX. 



Pacification, 142 — members of the Com- 
mittee formed according to the Plan of 
Pacification, 142 — when liable to be 
expelled, 144 

Stewards, Circuit, when to be chang- 
ed, 167 — invited to attend the District 
Meetings on financial business, 52, 
99, 167,"l89 ; and right to vote at, on 
any proposal for a general increase of 
Preachers' allowances, 52 — signature 
of, to be affixed to Bills of Deficiencies, 
176; to all claims on the Contingent 
Fund, for travelling expenses, 185 ; to 
applications to the Contingent Fund, 
from afflicted Circuit Preachers, 228; 
necessary to divisions of Circuits, 170 
— to pay regularly the Preachers' chil- 
dren's allowances, 215 ; and surplus of 
to District Treasurer, 218, 219 

Strangers, how often to be present, 
at Society Meetings, 14, 91, 161— not 
to be admitted to Love-feasts more 
than once, 94, 161; nor without note 
of admission, 161 — not fully accredited, 
not to be allowed to preach to the con- 
gregations, 93 

Sunday Baking, to be discounte- 
wanced, 105, 165 

Superintendents, of, 88-111 — to raise 
the average sum of Is. per member, 
for the Yearly Collection, 97, 157, 184 
— to meet the Leaders regularly, 22, 
107, 108— to change improper Leaders, 
15 — to enforce upon the Leaders the 
duty of seeing every member in their 
classes once a week, 76— to require all 
the Leaders regularly to attend their 
respective Leaders' Meetings, 96 — to 
inquire into the moral characters of all 
the Leaders, and every thing that re 
lates to their office, at least twice a 
3 r ear, 96— to urge on the Leaders the 
duty of collecting, weekly, in every 
class, and to examine their class- 
books attentively, 108, 157 — not to per- 
mit votes to be taken at Leaders' 
Meetings on the execution or rejection 
of established rules, on pain of depri- 
vation of office, 93, 167 — to meet Local 
Preachers Quarterly, 8S — to preside 
in Local Preachers' Meetings, 168 — to 
invite Chairmen of Districts to attend 
at Quarterly Meetings, 89 — possess a 
veto upon non-officialmeetings, 148— 
to nominate Stewards and Leaders, 167 
— appointment of Circuit Stewards 
vested in. 167 — to give Stewards, &c, 
a copy of the Pastoral Address, 108 — 
to invite Circuit Stewards to District 
Meetings on financial affairs, 99, 167, 
189 — to be punctual in making the 
general public collections, 99 — to 
discountenance unauthorised collec- 
tions, 94 — to recommend Societies to 
provide Benson's Bible for the cha- 
pels, 98 — to form Bands, 97— to ap- 
point Band Meetings, 180; to meet 



them weekly, 22 — to appoint Love- 
feasts, 161, 180 — to lay cases of claim- 
ants on the Auxiliary Fund, before 
their District Meetings, 9S, 229— re- 
sponsible for 4.1. Is., annually, from 
their Circuits for the Auxiliary Fund, 
228 — Book accounts of the, respecting 
the settlement of, 101, 238— to report 
subscriptions, &c, for the Chapel Fund, 
to District Meeting, 201— to transmit, 
annually, to the Book Steward an ex- 
act account of stock, 99, 238 — to iu- 
quire whether distressed chapels are 
occupied as Sunday-schools, and re- 
ceive a suitable rent, 84, 107, 202, 203 
— to compare chapel schedules with 
trustee books, 105, 203— not to allow 
chapels to be built or purchased with- 
out the consent of the Chapel-Building 
Committee, 243 — when to remit mo- 
nies for the Chapel Fund to the Treasur- 
ers, 104, 195, 1U7— to keep Quarterly 
Circuit schedules, to be produced at 
District Meetings, and brought to Con- 
ference, 78; all Missionary monies 
and accounts, separate from book and 
other accounts, 133— control over fu- 
neral sermons, 161 ; the Lord's Supper, 
163— of the Circuits in which the Con- 
ference is held, to publish, in conjunc- 
tion with the President, a plan of the 
order of preaching during its session, 
46, 111 — or colleagues, to make the 
Preachers' Plan, 70, 96— to have a vote 
in the choice of Trustee Stewards, 170 — 
to audit Trustees' accounts, 170 — Trus- 
tees' books to be open to, 170 — duties 
of, respecting the Contingent Fund, 
191 — to pay the whole of the July col- 
lections received in their Circuits to 
the Treasurer of the Contingent Fund, 
101, 190- directions to, respecting the 
School Fund, 209, 210, 213— to preside 
at Sunday-school Committee Meetings, 
94, 252, 246 — to return annually to 
Conference the number of members 
in Society in the several Circuits, 87, 
111; of Band members, 98; lists of 
subscribers to the Auxiliary Fund, 98, 
22S — to leave lists of members, &c, 
for their successors, 31, 78— to be fined 
for not paying Preacher's subscriptions 
sent by them to Conference, 100-101 - 
to see that every Preacher on trial has 
the eight volumes of Mr. AVesley's ser- 
mons, 8i) — authority of, to call District 
Meeting, if it appear to them that the 
Chairman of their District has been 
guilty of any crime or misdemeanour, 
67 

Superintendents, Foreign, to observe 
the printed instructions to Missiona- 
ries and enforce observance of them, on 
their brethren, 120— to keep ail Mis- 
sionary monies and accounts separate 
from book and other accounts, 133 — 
authority of, same as those at home, 128 



INDEX. 



323 



Swindling, how to prevent, 160 

Theological Institution See Insti- 
tution, Theological 

Tobacco interdicted, 47 

Toleration Act, an abstract of the, 
297-301 

Tracts, Religious, associations for the 
distribution of, to be formed, 103, 257 

Tract Society, the, 257-258 — forma- 
tion of the, 257 -committee of the, ap- 
pointed, 257; constitution of the, 257 
— committee of London Preachers to 
prepare and publish a system of rules 
for the, 25 S 

Trustees, concerning, 170— joint ju- 
dicial power of, 142, 143 — to choose 
their own Steward, 170 — majority of, to 
consent to the administration of Bap- 
tism and the Lord's Supper, 162 ; power 
to summon the Committee formed ac- 
cording to the Plan of Pacification, 142 
— members of the Committee formed 
according to the Plan of Pacification, 
142— not to expel or exclude Preachers 
from any Chapel, by their own separate 
authority, 143 — rules of Pacification 
not intended to violate the rights of, 
144 — requested to subscribe to the 
Chapel Fund, 195, 198, 244; to solicit 
subscriptions for the Chapel Fund, 104, 
197, 198, 201 ; to furnish loans of 100Z. 
for each of their chapels, to be repaid 
them by yearly instalments, 205 — re- 
questing relief from the Chapel Fund, 
to state how much they contribute to 
it out of their Trust Funds, 197; to 
prepare proposals for relief, 205 — not 
makingcollections, nor subscribing out 
of their trust estates, excluded from 
relief from the Chapel Fund, 198 — ad- 
vised not to borrow money on annui- 
ties, 200; nor on mortgage, without 
consulting the Chapel Loan Fund Com- 
mittee, 205 — rule concerning loans ob- 
tained by, on mortgage of trust pre- 
mises, 203, 204— only to be effectually 
relieved by the reduction of the prin- 
cipal of their trust debts, 204 - names 
of, and abstract of Trust Deeds, to be 



entered in a book, 241 — of Romseyand 
Ashton rebuked, for making irregular 
and unauthorised collections, 199 — 
when liable to be expelled, 144 — guilt 
of, to be proved " in the presence of" 
Trustees and Leaders, 170 

Unbelievers, marrying with, 165 

Watchnights to be revived, 75 

Wesley's Rev. J., last letter to the 
Conference, 9 — Will, 10 — nature of the 
power exercised by, over Preachers 
and People, 23 — Sermons and Notes to 
be purchased, an d read by candidates for 
the ministry, 72, 99, 239—" Thoughts 
on Music," to be distributed, 181 — 
''Abridgement of the Liturgy," new 
edition of, ordered to be printed, 182 — 
Sermon on Evil-speaking to be read in 
every Society, 21 — single sermons and 
tracts recommended to be distributed, 
257 — " Psalms and Hymns," use of, re- 
commended on Lord's-day forenoon, 
182 — " Instructions for Children," re- 
commended, 183 — plan of classical edu- 
cation to be adopted at Kingswood 
School, 207 — caution of, against rich 
members, 211; against building ex- 
pensive chapels, 241, 242 

If ork of God, how to account for the 
decrease of the, 37 — how to revive the, 
where decayed, 37 — in Scotland, how 
to be increased, 39 

World, on conformity to the, 164, 
165 

Worship, Public, lessons for the day, 
to be read every Sabbath at, 83, 162, 
181 

Worship, Family, stated daily, to he 
observed, 183 

Worship, Public and Family, 177- 
183 

Writing, teaching of, on the Lord's- 
dav, discountenanced, 105, 165, 247, 
253 

Yearly Collection. See Collection, 
Yearly. 



FINIS. 



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